4 POWERFUL MANUFACTURING SAFETY TIPS EVERY PLANT NEEDS

In the 1960s, disabling injuries for manufacturing employees increased 20 percent and 14,000 workers were dying on the job each year. In response, President Richard Nixon signed The Occupational Safety and Health Act, also known as OSHA, in 1970. OSHA was charged with assuring safe and healthful conditions for working Americans. OSHA made huge strides in its first three decades — lowering the injury rate by 40 percent and reducing occupational injuries by 60 percent.

Today, those number are much lower. In 2016, there were only 2.9 workplace injuries per 100 full-time employees. While the manufacturing industry has seen great strides in terms of workplace safety, our work is far from done.

To help factory managers and their employees stay safe in the plant, we’ve identified these four manufacturing safety tips.

4 Manufacturing Safety Tips

1. Start smart with safety training.
Starting at the time new employees are hired, manufacturers should make safety training mandatory. These comprehensive orientation sessions, which would break down their new safety responsibilities, should conclude by asking employees to sign a statement that they’ve successfully completed the training and understand what’s expected of them. These types of orientation trainings should be updated regularly as the plant’s needs change.

Safety training shouldn’t end there. Manufacturing managers should offer ongoing classes and certifications to make sure employees are kept up to date on emerging plant policies and safety trends. In addition to education, this will reinforce the fact that safety is their first priority.

2. Implement 5S workplace methodology.
5S — a system that maintains an orderly workplace and using visual cues to achieve more consistent operational results — is often used in order to reduce waste and optimize productivity. While it’s known to substantially improve these things, it can also have a secondary impact: safety. Here’s what it stands for:

1. Sort: Remove any items that aren’t needed for current production operations.

2. Set in order: Arrange items in an easily found order and label them accordingly.

3. Shine: Sweep and clean everything, everyday.

4. Standardize: Implement the sort, set and shine steps into a constant method.

5. Sustain: Make these standards a habit and constantly strive to improve them.

By implementing this method, you can reduce the unnecessary materials, time and confusion that often lead to workplace injuries.

3. Reward safe employees.
Employees respond well to positive recognition. In fact, in a Forbes study, companies that scored in the top 20 percent for building a “recognition-rich culture” actually had 31 percent lower voluntary turnover rates.

To promote this type of culture, it’s a smart idea to recognize and thank employees who exhibit safe practices on the job. This can be showcased through anything from raises and awards to a simple verbal recognition. Even further, you could create a system that allows employees to recognize one another for positive safety practices.

On the other side, it’s crucial not to create an environment where employees feel discouraged or unsafe reporting injuries, accidents or other hazardous concerns. An excellent way to combat this type of culture is to openly encourage employees to discuss ways to improve safety. If the entire team is enabled to identify safety concerns, individual employees will feel comfortable presenting issues if they should arise.

4. Make safety a leadership priority.
No matter how many policies you implement, employees are only going to take protocol as serious as their managers do. If a worker believes in safety but a manager only evaluates them on production, the employee will favor output at the expense of safety. That’s why it’s important to hire key leaders who will prioritize safety best practices.

By prioritizing safety from the top, this will set the tone for company and trickle down to the rest of the plant’s employees.

The future of manufacturing safety.
What do you think of these manufacturing safety tips? What safety protocol does your plant follow? We’d love to hear what works for you. Give us a call at 1.800.333.7519 or contact us online to speak with an ACI representative today.