Due to the heavy machinery, strenuous job responsibilities, and fall risks, manufacturing can be a dangerous occupation. Such hazards don’t just put the safety of employees in jeopardy, but they can also result in lawsuits, halted productivity, and reputation damage that can significantly curtail any business’s success. Follow these safety improvement ideas in manufacturing to ensure your facility is as safe as possible.
Implement continuous training
Improper or inadequate training is a common cause of injury in manufacturing facilities. While manufacturing facilities may choose to forgo training workshops to reduce downtime, the injuries that can occur from doing so have a far greater impact on productivity. As such, it’s important to schedule regular training workshops to update or refresh workers on how to safely handle equipment, carry out processes, and operate machinery.
Properly maintain equipment
Machinery malfunctions can pose a significant safety risk for manufacturing workers. To reduce this risk, make sure to properly maintain equipment. To do so, regular equipment checks and preventative maintenance measures are essential. One of the best preventative maintenance measures manufacturing facilities can implement is IoT sensors. Such sensors can provide manufacturers with information regarding machinery operations so that they can make safety improvements and prevent equipment failures before they occur.
Automate repetitive or dangerous tasks
Automating certain tasks can greatly improve manufacturing workers’ safety. For example, the motions that many manufacturing workers have to carry out over and over again often lead to repetitive stress injuries to muscles, nerves, tendons, and ligaments. By automating such repetitive tasks, the risk for repetitive motion injuries will reduce. In addition, automating tasks that take place in particularly dangerous environments can further improve the safety of manufacturing workers.
Install fall protection measures
The leading cause of injury facing workers in manufacturing facilities is falls. It’s essential to ensure that your facility and equipment is equipped with fall protection products and solutions. Examples of fall protection equipment to incorporate into your manufacturing facility include rails, lifelines, beams, harnesses, access systems, and safety gates. In addition to installing such equipment, it’s also important to ensure floors have no holes or tripping hazards, such as fluid leaks, spills, or loose boards, to reduce the risk of falls.