At least as of right now, machines are not people. They have limited thinking ability (if any) and most machines I see in factories are very old-school monsters that take up a large area of the work floor. There are a lot of new technologies that aim to save injuries and prevent issues to begin with, but I would still say most factories are using old technology. These old machines lack most current-day safety standards, which leaves plenty of room for injuries to occur.
So how can you help to protect your company from injuries caused by machines? Most say it comes down to proper training, proper supervision, and maybe a machine alteration or warning label. I think the real answer is a lot more than that, but sadly budgets get allocated towards other issues, usually until someone loses a limb.
So before that happens, what can you do to hedge your risk?
Properly train staff on the use and dangers of the machinery
The biggest prevention measure is proper training. I am not talking about training done by someone that just knows about the machine. I am talking about having someone train other staff that has years of time logged using this particular machine. This trainer knows the machine in and out. They know how to troubleshoot, how the machine works in various applications, and they have dedicated a good chunk of their career using just this type of machine. The training program cannot just be a one-day thing and then leave the new employee to “have at it.” We are talking weeks of training, supervision, follow-up, testing, and so on. The more effort you place in to proper training, the better off that new worker will be in operating that machine.
Supervisory staff needs to be held accountable for injuries on their team.
When someone gets injured, it is easy to blame them. But instead of blaming the injured worker 100%, look at their supervisor as well. Where was this supervisor when the accident happened? Has this worker tried similar corner-cutting methods and was able to dodge injury in the past? If so, why were they not disciplined the first time around? If they were disciplined, and the worker still engaged in that dangerous behavior, chances are the discipline was not strict enough. Just slapping them on the wrist is not going to stop anyone from cutting corners. When workers are disciplined, their supervisors must be disciplined as well. This way the supervisor is being held accountable for the staff they are being paid to oversee.
Make sure there is a cage or framework around robotics or moving parts of a machine.
This goes without saying, but if a worker has access to a machine or robotics where parts are moving, there is a good chance the worker could become injured. Any swinging parts or moving parts of a machine should be kept within a certain area, and that area should be caged off from where other workers are nearby. This prevents the machine from inadvertently injuring someone. If there is proper caging around the machine already, how high is it? I have seen countless injuries from workers leaning over the caging to access the machine while it is operating. If this happens, default back to the supervisor. Nobody is seeing this worker climb or bend over the caging to reach the machine for whatever reason? If so, why was that worker and supervisor not disciplined right away? To be safe, caging should be erected as tall as possible. This will prevent workers from trying to lean or step over lower caging. If the caging was 7’ or 8’ high, one would have to scale the fencing in order to get in.
Lock access doors, limit who has access, and post the area as restricted with warning signs
Many workers ignore signs. I have no idea why, but just posting a sign will have no detriment to stopping a person from going in to a certain area or machine. However, it is hard to get access to the machine if the cage access door is locked, and only a handful of people have the key to get in. Even better, should some random worker get access that should not have access, you know who to discipline because only a few people have the key. I have seen in the past workers bypass the lock by talking the key holder in to propping the door open, or rigging the lock somehow. But again, if this person knows of steep discipline should someone be caught in the area without proper access, the shortcutting should be eliminated.
In the end, it all comes down to training, discipline, and accountability.
Author Michael Stack, Principal of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. He is an expert in employer communication systems and helps employers reduce their workers comp costs by 20% to 50%. He resides in the Boston area and works as a Qualified Loss Management Program provider working with high experience modification factor companies in the Massachusetts State Risk Pool. As the senior editor of Amaxx’s publishing division, Michael is on the cutting edge of innovation and thought leadership in workers compensation cost containment. http://reduceyourworkerscomp.com/about/. Contact: [email protected].
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