Safety is always important and safety culture takes time to cultivate and grow. Use these five top safety tips to help keep your manufacturing facility safe.

1. Identify largest risk areas

The largest safety hazards and risk areas can be easily identified by the frequency that OSHA records violations in those areas.

Machine Guarding

Certain prices of equipment should have specific protection mechanisms in place. These are protections are known as machine guarding. This includes barriers, light curtains, and two-hand trips.

Lockout/Tagout

This program is also known as OSHA’s Control of Hazardous Energy control program. Commonly referred to as “Lockout/Tagout.” This program outlines what workers should do to safely depower dangerous machines.

Hazard Communication

This is OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard and it is the way that you are supposed to communicate with your employees about dangerous chemicals in the workplace. It is a set of rules that covers labeling and tracking chemicals, and also employee training on chemicals.

Respiratory Protection

OSHA’s respiratory protection standards outline how organizations are supposed to minimize worker exposure to hazardous air. Click here to learn more.

Electrical Wiring Methods

Wiring is a frequent violation of OSHA’s workplace safety standards and is commonplace for electrical hazards. Wires are flexible and cover wide areas that may be configured incorrectly, and can wear down easily. This creates hazards that are difficult to manage.

2. Frequent safety audits and inspections

Audits and inspections are the pillars of any safety program for your manufacturing operations. Conducting a safety inspection, even if you have never done one, should be completed regularly. By evaluating your facilities, employees, and procedures, you will make create a safer work environment. It will also help lead to better efficiency as you are evaluating your processes and equipment. This will also help you be more compliant with state and federal health and safety protocols.

3. Training workforce effectively

Training your manufacturing workforce is important. It is essential for ensuring that your workers can do their jobs, operate machinery, and wear and maintain safety equipment correctly. Guaranteeing that all workers are trained on the first days on the job, and when necessary afterward to create a culture of safety.

To be as effective as possible in training your employees,

• Know your audience
• Use real-world examples
• Assess prior knowledge
• Promote behavioral change through repetition

4. Regular safety meetings

Along with the safety training, your manufacturing operation will need to conduct regular safety meetings. Some operations teams conduct these meetings every three months, while others conduct them every month or even every couple of weeks. If your accident rate is going up, then more frequent safety meetings will need to occur.

Safety meetings should be more formal and typically longer than the usual employee meetings.

To run a correct safety meeting:

• Focus on one issue at a time
• Keep it between 20-45 minutes
• Involve your employees in creating and running the meetings
• Use different approaches and a mix of different media to make it interesting and address all learning styles
• Document everything to track the results and improve future meetings

5. Cultivate a safe culture

The regular safety meetings will help lead to a proper manufacturing safety program that is important and focuses on your people. Safety culture is about people, for people, and by your people. Your company can cultivate this culture by taking care of your employees and encouraging your employees to take care of themselves and each other.

This will help create a safe culture. This means going beyond discussing safety and actually emphasizing worker well-being in the beliefs and values of your workforce. Creating this culture comes from assessing your current culture, determining what needs to be improved, and making safety a habit for every worker in your organization.

Dodge Introduces a New Safety Solution

Dodge’s Inboard Shaft Guard is new and specifically designed for Torque-Arm reducers to protect employees from rotation equipment. The Inboard Shaft Guard is high-quality, impact-resistant, and has a modular design that allows the shaft guard to be used in a wide range of shaft lengths.

The inboard shaft guard increases safety and meets OSHA guidelines. Your employees who were forced to make custom guards that were not always cost-effective will have a Dodge manufactured product that is consistent and can be used in any industry, saving you money and time. The shaft guard ensures safe operations.

Learn more from IBT’s Bearings, Power Transmission, and Electrical Solution Experts

With our years of experience in power transmission, you can rely on IBT for the best solution to your problems. Contact Joe Purcell, the IBT Bearings, PT, and Electrical Director of Business Development at (913) 261-2148 to learn more.