Posts Tagged ‘manufacturing’

Q&A: Why Choose a Holiday Manufacturing Shutdown

by Julianne Bass

Manufacturing Shutdown

Machines are new and don’t need to be entirely shut down to be worked on; demand continues to grow; and customer expectations are non-negotiable. All of these reasons point to doing away with a holiday shutdown.  So the question remains, why keep it around? While processes continue to change with technology and become more efficient, there are still some tasks that can’t be done during all of the hustle and bustle that comes with a production schedule.

 Why Shut Down?

    • Shut downs are usually planned for improvements in machinery or updating processes. While they do have their drawbacks and technology has come so far, plant shut downs when done correctly are always for the betterment of the company. This gives upper management time to assess current ways of doing business in order to find solutions to save money, increase safety and reduce stress and time wasted.
  • What Areas Are Usually Focused On During a Shutdown?
    • All areas of your facility are impacted by a shutdown, both directly and indirectly. This is time spent on everything from general logistics to finance, sales and product design. The goal of a shutdown is to find ways of making production more efficient, either by implementing an ergonomics program, finding better material for a product and changing machines to accommodate it, or just performing thorough maintenance that has been neglected during the busy season.
  • How Does a Shutdown Help With Safety?
    • A shutdown is a great time to perform a risk assessment at your facility to pinpoint areas in need of the most “safety help.” When dealing with large machinery that requires maintenance, this is also a great time to update your lockout/ tagout procedures to make sure that they are still protecting your workers as expected. Machine guarding, PPE, and safety signage should also be checked periodically for expected deterioration. It is also a good idea to check your workplace for existing unaddressed hazards and be sure to implement a safety strategy for getting those hazards eliminated or at least under control.
  • Is a Shutdown Good for the Business?
    • While there is no cover all answer to whether a holiday shutdown will work for your business goals in the New Year, there are many factors that speak to both sides of the argument. Consider you workers, your facility’s greatest asset, who have dedicated their lives to your company. If nothing else a shut down during the holiday will act as a small token of gratitude and a nice time away to rest and recharge to do it all again in 2016.

An Untapped Resource: Women in Manufacturing

by Julianne Bass

women in manufacturing

The talent challenges that U.S. manufacturers are facing are long from over and are projected to continue to worsen in upcoming years, Women may be that untapped resource employers are looking for to change course and move production forward in the right direction.

In some instances the pressure to fill vacant positions with a lack of qualified applicants leads to the hiring of ill-equipped workers, and potentially hazardous injuries or fatal accidents. While women make up half of the U.S. workforce, less than a quarter of manufacturing jobs are held by women, trying to attract qualified women into these open positions may go a long way in helping to fill them with knowledgeable workers.

One of the issues many manufacturers are having is actually attracting female applicants. The industry image is currently that of a male dominated environment. Recent survey data from the Manufacturing Institute reports that women in manufacturing are much less likely to recommend manufacturing careers to their children—particularly daughters. Through changing perceptions, breaking stereotypes and educating young workers about all of the opportunities in the manufacturing field what emerges may be a deeper more qualified applicant pool, and a better, safer working environment for everyone.

It’s a war for talent,” John Faraci, CEO of International Paper and advocate for hiring more women into manufacturing roles said in a recent interview.“If we can only compete for half the people that are on the planet, how are we going to get the best? You want to compete for everybody.”

If companies are looking to improve their workforce the answer may be right in front of their faces. Recruiting top candidates across the board is good for business, but only being able to reach half of the population puts the manufacturing industry at a great disadvantage. Bringing more visibility to the industry and the women achieving milestones and building successful careers like those honored at the recent STEP awards on March 26th is an example of a great way to start the conversation and inspire the next generation or even this generation of female leaders. The first step is being aware, what is the environment in your workplace like?

Workplace Safety News Roundup

by Julianne Bass

workplace safety news 2

Manufacturers showing ‘good faith’ on GHS may avoid citations, OSHA says

Some manufacturers of chemical mixtures will not be cited for failing to immediately comply with new Safety Data Sheet and chemical labelingrequirements if they exercise “good faith,” a Feb. 9 OSHA enforcement memorandum states. Manufacturers and importers face a June 1 deadline for using SDSs and labels that are compliant with OSHA’s updated Hazard Communication Standard. But because the classification of chemical mixtures depends on SDSs and labels from raw-material providers, some manufacturers or importers may not have the most up-to-date or accurate information.

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2015 Green Cross for Safety® medal is being presented to CB&I.

The 2015 Green Cross for Safety® medal is being presented to CB&I. Since 2000, the National Safety Council has awarded the Green Cross for Safety® medal to an organization and its CEO that “have distinguished themselves through outstanding safety leadership and have showcased their commitment to safety by building successful partnerships to save lives and prevent injuries. Safety+Health recently sat down with CB&I President and CEO Philip Asherman for a Q&A on the importance of safety in his company.

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OSHA Whistleblower Investigator Blows Whistle on Own Agency

The federal government established the Whistleblower Protection Programin the 1970s to shield employees from retaliation when they report wrongdoing or safety hazards in their industry. But insiders say the program is failing the very people it is supposed to protect, and jeopardizing public health and safety in the process.

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OSHA Violations:

Company fined more than $272,000 for willfully ignoring safety hazards following worker death

A 58-year-old maintenance worker was killed after he was pinned between a motorized scrap metal table and a railing at the company’s Bridgeton, Mo., facility. An OSHA investigation found that the company failed to prevent the table from starting unintentionally.

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OSHA cites kitchenware plant for hazards

After receiving complaints from plant employees, inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Syracuse visited the plant in September. The investigation found that employees faced dangers from fire, laceration, amputation, crushing, electric shock, falling and hearing loss because of absent or deficient safeguards.

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OSHA cites W.Va. company, proposes $109,450 fine

A Martinsburg contractor faces a $109,450 fine for alleged workplace violations at a Morgantown construction site. OSHA said it found three alleged willful violations and one serious violation. The willful violations involved safety precautions for workers exposed to falls of 25 feet or more. OSHA inspectors said workers also were using a pneumatic nail gun while not wearing eye protection.

Workplace Safety News Roundup

by Julianne Bass

workplace safety news

Keeping track of new OSHA regulations and taking advantage of supplemental safety training and reading materials makes a big difference in the success of the programs you implement in your workplace. Seeing what others are doing both for the better and worse help mold an all encompassing safety initiative. Here is a sampling of some of the news buzzing around workplace safety this month.

Lack of safety training, experience blamed for rise in work fatalities

A younger and newer workforce in manufacturing and construction have led to a rise in deadly industrial work accidents in Ohio, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, could this be an emerging trend across America?

Job cuts as well as baby boomer retirements could be leading to a lack of experience in the field. Now that activity is bouncing back from the 2007-09 economic recession, companies are complaining about the lack of skilled workers to be found, and it could be hurting safety.

Many fatal accidents could be prevented with the right equipment, but still there have been six deaths on the job so far this year in the region overseen just by Cincinnati area OSHA Director Bill Wilkerson. He estimates 17 total workers have died across Ohio so far in 2015.

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OSHA, EPA, and Fertilizer Safety and Health Partners sign alliance to protect workers and first responders from hazardous chemicals

WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today entered into an alliance with the Fertilizer Safety and Health Partners and the Environmental Protection Agency to provide safety and health information and training resources to workers, emergency responders and communities surrounding establishments in the agricultural retail and supply industry. The alliance will focus on the safe storage and handling of fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate and anhydrous ammonia.

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Finger amputations lead to OSHA inspection: $1.76M in fines, finds more than 1,000 worker injuries at Wisconsin site in past 36 months

In a three-and-a-half year period, 4,500 employees at a Wisconsin Furniture company in Arcadia, experienced more than 1,000 work-related injuries. One worker became another terrible statistic when he lost three fingers in July 2014 while operating a dangerous woodworking machine without required safety mechanisms in place. Of the injuries recorded, more than 100 were caused by similar machinery.

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