Growing productivity has come with an increasing waste problem for manufacturing and heavy industry. The industrial sector produces more garbage than ever, and the task of disposing of it is often difficult, unsafe and inefficient. Failing to manage refuse properly can also come with significant consequences — fines, environmental damage and long-term health problems.
We credit industrial automation with productivity, efficiency, and safety gains, citing manual handling reduction and a reduction in musculoskeletal injury as a first-stage safety benefit. Yet, advanced technologies bring new opportunities for improved worker safety beyond manual handling, requiring an adaptation in our safety thinking.
OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER 29 CFR 1910.120, 1926.65, EPA 40 CFR 311), aims at preventing or minimizing worker exposure to hazards during operations and emergency response to unplanned events such as releases or spills. It mandates training for various categories of workers including the First Responder.
Maintenance activities guarantee the availability, reliability and safety of production equipment. While performing their maintenance roles, technicians are exposed to hazardous energy sources or unexpected starting up of equipment. These conditions increase the risk of injury or death. To prevent such accidents, companies devise machine-specific lockout tagout (LOTO) procedures.
Let’s look at how safety and HR professionals can apply AI to a company’s safety initiatives, provide the data necessary for obtaining meaningful results, avoid common pitfalls, and get the answers needed from an AI assistant.
Electrical-related fatalities and serious injuries (FSI)* are among the noted FSIs. FSIs represent a safety and health challenge that has gained increasing visibility in the past decade as even organizations with elite environment, health and safety programs struggle to reduce FSI numbers.
When you think about the most important things that keep your factory running smoothly, raw materials and a trained staff are likely top of mind. Corporate executives often overlook the importance of factory-floor communication as they make investment decisions to move their organizations forward.
Organizations are mandated by law to establish workplace safety programs to guarantee a safe and healthy work environment. Prioritizing safety in an organization reduces the number of work-related incidents and protects assets from damage.
Combustible dust hazards are under-recognized in the industry and can pose a significant risk to your employees' safety and the integrity of your facilities.
Through a series of complex chemical reactions (i.e., “carbonation”), CO2 can reduce concrete’s pH and increase its porosity – ultimately impairing the overall strength and durability of concrete. The phenomenon is hastened in humid climates and in large cities or industrial areas where fossil fuels are likely to be burned at higher rates.