One of the industries that have to engage in the most high-risk activities is that of manufacturing. Activities such as welding, soldering, metal cutting, heavy lifting, and raw material assembly put workers at risk for serious injury or even death. That‘s why extreme safety precautions must especially be taken in workplaces like these. This blog will go over 5 steps for ensuring safety in manufacturing facilities.
1. Conduct a Thorough Risk Assessment
Workplace safety in a high-risk environment may require a lot of involvement but is achievable. The first step to ensuring safety in a manufacturing facility is by conducting a thorough risk assessment before allowing anyone to start working there. An effective risk assessment helps you stay aware of the hazards present to ensure that you prevent them. It might be a good idea to hire a risk assessor to help you develop a ria assessment plan that will identify all the potential hazards associated with a particular manufacturing sub-process.
Modern techniques such as FMEA (Failure Mode & Effect Analysis) can help manufacturing facility floors abscess and manage the safety risks. Adopting the FMEA strategy can help manufacturers foresee potential failures and safety concerns associated with them. The technique uses factors like the severity of the issue, its occurrence rate, and ease of detection to conduct a risk assessment.
2. Prioritize Housekeeping
Manufacturing facilities are often unorganized and chaotic. A cluttered work area can be a danger for any industry. However, manufacturing facilities have more risks due to the equipment and hazards found there. Examples of potential hazards that can found due to untidiness include:
- Wet or greasy floors
- Power cords lying around
- Stinger leads
- Cylinder hoses
As a result, it is essential that you keep aisles, hallways, walkaways, and workstations clean and free of equipment and objects that could cause trips, slips, falls, and fires. Examples of ways you can significantly reduce accidents due to these types of issues include:
- Placing a barricade with caution tape around a wet or greasy area
- Properly dispose of metal shaving and other flammable materials by placing them in their designated bins
- Arranging all equipment and objects in an orderly fashion, away from walkways
3. Require Workers to Wear the Required Safety Equipment
All manufacturing workers should wear their protective gear when on the facility to reduce the probabilities of sustaining injuries. For example, all metal workers should wear the proper personal protective equipment that’s required for their job, such as hard hats, safety hoods, gloves, work boots, earplugs, full-body suits, and respirators. Depending on their specific tasks and roles, all manufacturing workers should have the PPE that is specific to their duties. Reinforce the use of this equipment for all workers that require protection.
4. Ensure Proper Installation of the Guarding Mechanisms
All manufacturing facilities should be organized to ensure workplace safety. For example, the area around a potentially hazardous workstation should be protected using a guardrail or barrier. Non-existent or poorly-maintained guards can cause accidental entry into the area, something you want to prevent by all means. Make sure to check malfunctioning tools and guarding mechanisms before starting any manufacturing processes.
5. Deliver Adequate Training to Employees
Regardless of whether the employee is an apprentice or an experienced veteran, they should be trained to follow the safety protocol, thereby reducing the risk of on-site accidents and injuries. Delivering consistent and adequate training is the best way to remind them of safe working methods and avoid accidents. Besides educating workers on how to prevent common workplace accidents, the right training can help them complete their duties the safest way possible—for example, discarding scrap safely, reporting defects in the equipment, and managing maintenance requirements, if any.
When it comes to manufacturing facilities, safety is a great concern. However, with the right safety practices and the proper personal protective equipment, accidents can be prevented. We hope these 5 steps for ensuring safety in manufacturing facilities helped you see how you can achieve a safe workplace in a manufacturing facility. Safety is something that should never be neglected. If you need safety equipment, give Extreme Safety a call at (310) 856-0166 or click here.
