In today’s industry, computer use and use of digital devices is not limited to the office worker, but occurs in every shop floor, laboratory and other production facility. Manufacturing and industrial operations have computers or other digital screens in many aspects of their operations.
It’s something of a tradition in workplace safety to observe how different company cultures react to bad news about accidents, hazardous conditions, OSHA penalties, worker complaints and negative press. In my experience, most of the time defenses go up immediately.
More than one in three U.S. workers are now Millennials, having surpassed Baby Boomers and Gen Xers as the largest generation in the U.S. labor force. Born between 1980 and 2000, they are also the first truly digital generation.
To help reduce same-level slip, trip and fall incidents, OSHA recently a provision to the walking-working surface rules for facilities to conduct regular inspections of all walking-working surfaces. This, coupled with the new requirement to fix any hazards that are found will help prevent slip, trip and fall incidents.
Training is one of the most critical elements in safety. Providing workers with the required skills and knowledge to safely do their work is extremely important to OSHA. So important, in fact, that more than 100 of OSHA’s current standards contain specific training requirements.
Unfortunately, while the new building allowed Citrus Systems to increase production of its fruit and vegetable blends, concentrated juices, teas and other custom products, it carried over the same antiquated dock equipment used in the old one. And that caused a noisy, painful problem.
Any potential risks posed by a machine should be largely eliminated from the start for economic reasons. And a safety system should minimize unnecessary trips to maximize uptime. Here are five steps to consider when planning a machine build
One safety culture dimension does not get the scrutiny and attention it deserves – perception gaps in organizations. It can easily get overlooked, and create problems that relate directly to safety, productivity, and morale.