Watching people and machines working in harmony is akin to watching a prima ballerina and her partner performing a pas de deux, making even intricate movements seem effortless. When both are in sync, it is a thing of beauty. But if the timing is off or a misstep is made, the dance is reduced to an awkward, unwatchable mess.
In manufacturing, poor timing and the wrong moves can be disastrous, resulting in broken bones, mangled limbs, or even death.
From mom-and-pop shops with a handful of workers to major manufacturers with hundreds of staff members, shop floor safety is crucial. Mishaps not only cause injuries, but are demoralizing to staff and cost precious time if machines are taken offline because of incidents.
Many of us have heard the acronym ‘KISS.’ Originally standing for ‘Keep it simple, stupid,’ it is gaining popularity as ‘Keep it safe, stupid,’ which easily applies to manufacturing. From working with sheet metal and sharp tools, to high-speed saws and orbital sanders, there are plenty of opportunities for accidents to happen. This is where KISS comes in through basics, like creating—and sticking to—shop floor standards.
In his book Fundamentals of Daily Shop Floor Management: A Guide for Manufacturing Optimization and Excellence, Philip J. Gisi underscored the importance of the basics. “Standards often start with shop floor cleanliness and orderliness (5S), since a dirty and unorganized workplace often breeds indifference and inefficiency in work performance,” he writes. “An orderly environment promotes efficiency as people are not wasting time looking for the tools and materials needed to do the job they were hired to do. Standardization can also play a key role in ensuring a safe and hassle-free work environment for all employees.”
Shop floors can be dangerous places. Along with machinery, there is the constant movement of people, raw materials, finished goods, conveyors, and cranes. There is risk of injury in unloading items from trucks or tripping over boxes or tools left on the floor. To minimize accidents, clear, well-defined procedures and safety protocols must be in place and respected at all times. These include sticking to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines, such as floors maintaining safe load weight limits, keeping aisles and passageways clear for safe movement of people and equipment, and ensuring materials do not pile up and become a tripping, fire, pest, or explosion hazard. Floors should be clearly marked with safety tape, and lighting must be adequate.
At its most basic, shop floor safety is about common sense. You wouldn’t leave a knife hanging over the edge of a kitchen table, so why would you leave sharp tools where someone could accidentally cut themselves? Likewise, most of us would never disable safety features built into tools at home, so why would you do so at work? And although it sometimes seems like a chore, equipping safety glasses, steel-toed boots, gloves, hearing protection, respiratory devices, work gloves, and high-visibility clothing all exist to keep us protected.
Although manufacturing is moving beyond the dreaded old Three ‘D’s’—dark, dirty and dangerous—shop floor safety hazards still exist. Even with safety procedures in place, the most common hazard remains slip and fall. Often the result of wet floors and poor lighting, slip and trip incidents can result in serious injuries like fractures or broken bones.
One of the most effective ways of preventing shop floor accidents is the simplest: look and observe. This includes not only your area or workstation but that of co-workers. Should that box be on the floor, for instance? Safety isn’t about being reactive, but proactive. There is no shame in telling co-workers to wear PPE or to ensure their hair is tied back and loose jewellery removed around lathes, saws, or other machinery.
For manufacturers, fostering a safety culture is crucial. Many companies promote their safety records on their website and advertising materials, and very low or zero Lost-Time Injuries (LTIs) are a badge of honor, an indicator of a company’s safety program and its effectiveness. Other systems include DART from OSHA. Standing for Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred, the acronym “represents the number of recordable incidents per 100 full-time employees that result in one or more days away from work, of restricted work, or job transfer.” These numbers matter, since OSHA uses them to determine workplaces requiring future inspections.
There is no questioning that modern machinery continues making shop floor operations safer and more efficient. Although performing many of the same functions as the machinery of yesteryear, today’s drill presses, grinders, lathes, and CNC machines are outfitted with valuable safety features—some mechanical, others electronic, and some a combination of both.
On the purely functional side, clear polycarbonate or metal machine guards serve as a physical barrier between the operator and moving machine parts, and indicator lights of different colors—red, yellow and green—distinguish a dangerous area from a safe one. Other devices, such as emergency stop buttons or ropes, can cut power to equipment in case of emergency. Safety interlock switches typically work alongside machine guards; if someone tampers with a guard, the switch immediately engages, shutting down the machine.
Other high-tech devices are being incorporated as they emerge. Light curtains and laser scanners connected to sensors use beams of light to generate invisible barriers around potentially hazardous areas. If something comes too close to a hazard, the machine shuts off. Safety mats, meanwhile, boast pressure-sensitive technology, only allowing a machine to activate if a worker is standing on the mat. Similar technology is used in manufacturing for bumpers and edges. Hooked up to automatic doors, these sensors will automatically stop a door from closing if resistance is applied.
Even with advances in technology, regular safety training remains essential for new and veteran workers alike. For employers, investing in a culture of safety is crucial. It is important for all employees—not just those on the shop floor—to take an active role in enhancing safety. All staff members must feel free to speak up without judgement to identify and assess any potential hazards for the benefit of all. New hires need to be exposed to safety training and protocols as part of their onboarding process; likewise, veteran staff must stay up to date. All machines must be regularly inspected to ensure they are in good working order and that safety features like guards are functioning properly.
In the future, Artificial Intelligence, safety management software, and other innovations are sure to play an even greater role in shop floor safety. But even with technology, nothing beats identifying potential problems—like a slippery floor or a messy workstation—before they become hazards. As the old saying goes, there is no substitute for common sense.
