Page 29 - Occupational Health & Safety, February 2017

consumer products manufacturer located in the Southwest. The company, which has a history of making employee safety a top priority, runs the plant 24/7 with multiple production lines op- erating simultaneously. While this around-the-clock schedule meets output requirements, it also raises the possibility of an em- ployee accident. Recognizing this danger, the employee health & safety manager decided to conduct a risk assessment of the plant’s equipment.
The plant’s manager said the company promotes a safety-fo- cused culture where employees are always put first, and a new cor- porate directive targeted the injury-prevention value of machine guarding, with several vendors bidding for the job. The resulting program was conducted over a five-day period during which more than 20 risk assessments were conducted on the machine lines. Each of these lines is comprised of more than 100 pieces of equip- ment ranging from simple mechanical equipment to highly com- plex automation systems. Two vendor employees were responsible for the risk assessment: the company’s risk assessment manager and an electrical engineer well-versed in the National Electrical Code who assisted in analyzing electrical controls.
“We were very impressed by [the vendor]’s team. We had our initial findings within two weeks and a final report in less than three weeks, showing not only where safety could be improved but outlining a roadmap on how it can be done,” said the safety man-
π
OVER 160 GLOVE STYLES IN STOCK
ager. “The report prioritized potential areas of concern on the plant floor broken down in a matrix graphically depicting each piece of equipment’s risk ranking. We were able to see how machines with a safety rating of 12, for example, could be brought to a 4 with the addition of safeguarding.”
He said the vendor company “did the impossible. We gave them the task of assessing a massive manufacturing plant containing a variety of equipment, all in a short amount of time, and they got it done. . . . They are a great resource who remain highly receptive in sharing their knowledge.”
Matt Brenner is Vice President of Sales for Rockford Systems, LLC. He boasts more than 14 years of experience at Rockford Systems, where he began his career as Midwest Regional Manager and Machine Safe- guarding Specialist. In his time with Rockford Systems, Brenner has developed strategic relationships with Fortune 500 customers and distribution partners instrumental to the company’s ongoing success. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Il- linois. Rockford Systems offers an award-winning education program to help safety personal interpret and apply OSHA Regulations and ANSI Standards. These monthly two-and-a-half day seminars com- bine classroom discussion with live demonstrations on a number of machines to give attendees a practical, hands-on learning experience. For more information, visit www.rockfordsystems.com.
Experience the WisE AdvantageTM
www.wisesafetyenv.com
Easy made smart.
Introducing 3MTM E-A-RTM
Easy Touch Earplugs.
Now you can get the best benefits of a push-to-fit earplug — comfort, hygiene, ease-of-use — for what you’d expect to pay for a disposable roll-down earplug. Featuring patented technology, 3MTM E-A-RTM Easy Touch Earplugs are the costeffective alternative your employees will want to wear. Now that’s smart.
3M Easy Touch Hearing Ad for January 2017 12/9/16 9:05 AM Page 1
www.ohsonline.com
FEBRUARY 2017 | Occupational Health & Safety 25
Circle 9 on card.
Circle 23 on card.
ORDER BY 6 PM FOR SAME DAY SHIPPING
COMPLETE CATALOG 1-800-295-5510
st. Louis Wise .... . . . . 800-727-8541 st. Louis Reis . .... . . . . 800-777-7347 Boston . . . . . . . .... . . . . 877-257-3263 Denver. . . . . . . .... . . . . 800-677-7347 Houston . . . . . .... . . . . 800-234-2377
For more information
Jacksonville. . . . . . . . . . . 877-655-7347 Kansas City. . . . . . . . . . . 800-888-7347 Little Rock. . . . . . . . . . . . 800-901-4678 Louisville. . . . . . . . . . . . . 502-637-4337 salt Lake City . . . . . . . . . 800-559-7347