In the higher-risk manufacturing sectors falling, slipping on loose ground materials, tripping, and exposure to toxic chemicals are all contributors to injury, time off work, illness, and even death in some instances.

It’s the responsibility of the employer and even the employee to take a proactive, strategic approach to reducing these risks. And an effective and well-implemented workplace safety and health program can prove invaluable.

So it’s a given that workplace health and safety should be in the mission statement of any manufacturing company, regardless of size. And every employee needs to be responsible for abiding by safety policies mandated by a manufacturer. But safety, while by far the most important reason for attention to this basic principle, has some important side effects, all beneficial.

Productive safety

An international leader in industrial services, Advance Technology Services, in partnership with Plant Engineering magazine, conducted a study where researchers discovered that “83 percent of senior management and operations personnel witnessed a noticeable rise in productivity levels following the implementation of a safety program.”

These same researchers also saw a decrease in the costs of injuries and insurance claims.

According to David Miller, Advanced Technology Services’ senior director of environmental health and safety, “The results of this survey prove the primary importance of safety within today’s manufacturing environments.”

He adds that, “Only those manufacturing facilities which continue to emphasize safety as a top-level issue will remain highly productive and competitive in today’s marketplace.”

Essential training

Manufacturers can play a vital role in employee safety and health by offering assurance that both new and existing employees are comprehensively trained in their job responsibilities and are aware of the numerous safety protocols in place.

Safety-training software aids manufacturers by saving time and improves efficiency in their safety departments through hazard reporting, incident reporting, job safety analyses, mobile inspections, and behavior-based safety, for example.

Over the past decade, there has been a decline in work-related injuries according to some experts.

This is due in part to advances in technology and ergonomics programs. But there is still more to be done in the manufacturing sector to improve worker health and safety. It takes thorough training to bring new workers into any manufacturing facility. And it can be a challenge.

“There’s a learning curve for onboarding,” says Brian Kramer, manufacturing industry practice leader for the insurance company The Hartford. “Promoting worker safety goes beyond the safety manual or handbook. It’s about creating a culture that’s committed to, and very much focused on, safety and accountability.”

The Hartford indicates that, “The learning curve for new workers with a year or less of experience is steep and closely tied to injury rates. Employees with one year or less of experience accounted for 35 percent of claim volume compared to 15 percent by teammates with at least one to two years of experience… The takeaway is clear. Experience and retraining are critical to keeping workers safe.”

This also holds for management training. It’s the strength of all team members in manufacturing that will determine the success of a company through quality assurance that in turn ensures efficient operations and, perhaps more importantly, a company’s reputation.

Safeguarding workers also safeguards profit margins and can be achievable with a well-executed business plan. This must engage all members of a team so that the implementing of prescribed courses of action is achieved.

Leadership skills not only improve employee satisfaction but enable all team members to share responsibility for looking out for other team members, reducing workplace accidents. This is also an essential part of the framework for a positive company culture – the social and professional environment in which employees spend their days.

A supportive culture leads to better employee retention and certainly morale, giving employees confidence in management skills and leadership.

Pivoting with PPE

Employees are required to wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for each job they do. It may include footwear, glasses, head protection, and clothing, for example. It should be fitted appropriately with employees understanding how to wear and utilize it.

PPE requires regular maintenance, assessment, and updates.

PPE also protects employees from liability for any injury they sustain or cause. Even though a task takes only a moment is no reason to forego the wearing of the appropriate PPE or of being ignorant of the requirements for each protective item.

Sharp materials and corrosive substances are everywhere and can seriously damage the eyes. That’s why safety glasses are one of the most essential and effective forms of PPE and are available in different configurations for every job task. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), “90 percent of eye injuries could have been prevented by safety eyewear.”

Making machines safe

Having machine guarding in place on all forms of manufacturing equipment is essential to safety. Shields or other devices covering hazardous machine parts prevent equipment-operator injuries as well as injuries to anyone nearby.

Without proper machine guarding severe incidents such as crushed hands or fingers, burns, and even injuries that necessitate amputation may occur. All equipment such as overhead cranes requires periodic inspections to assure that proper guarding is in place.

Any equipment part, function, or process has the potential to cause injury. Such hazards need to be controlled or eliminated. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), “Machine guarding is the first line of defense to protect workers from machine-related injury. Without guarding, workers would be directly exposed to serious and potentially life-threatening hazards.”

OSHA also says, “Machine workers sustain 18,000 injuries and 800 deaths every year. While injuries can occur from machines in a variety of ways, one of the most common is lack of guarding.”

Safety-savvy tech

The manufacturing industry is ever-evolving with new technologies related to advanced automation, robotics, new materials and composites, and advanced process controls, for example.

Such technologies have greatly improved how a manufacturer plans and schedules manufacturing processes. For example, 3D printing is now cheaper while using less material and enabling more options for manufacturing facilities to custom create products.

Wearable technology and occupational exoskeletons can prevent job-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). Such wearables can prove to be functional while improving ergonomics. Gloves that record employee hand movements track biomechanical movement, which can monitor and identify the kind of repetitive motion that leads to injuries.

Various technological advancements allow manufacturers to produce quality products more cheaply while cutting down the time for manufacturing. For the manufacturer, this equates to improvement in productivity with decreased costs.

In addition to advanced technologies increasing the efficiency of operations through waste reduction, manufacturers that are most highly technology-driven compared to the competition are overwhelmingly likely to be among the fastest-growing in their industry.

However, with advanced technologies come cybersecurity issues. Manufacturing companies implementing new technologies should focus on addressing such concerns.

The cloud-oriented software technologies being utilized are prone to security breaches. “The manufacturing industry is one of the most valuable targets to hackers as manufacturers will usually store personal customer information, according to PlanetTogether. In addition, modern manufacturing facilities that are extensively connected could be susceptible to hackers which could result in the shutdown of a production facility.”

There are concerns that new technologies in the manufacturing industry could cause redundancy among employees. While this is true in some cases, the fact remains that although more technologically advanced machinery is more efficient, resulting in higher productivity, such machinery can’t replace employee flexibility.

COVID – a lingering challenge

The pandemic has been detrimental to the manufacturing industry, presenting serious operational challenges. Everywhere, plant management has been pressured to find ways of continuing operations during the pandemic while maintaining hygiene and dealing with constraints on employees such as physical distancing.

Three main areas of focus need to be on protecting the workforce, ensuring business continuity by managing risk, and maintaining productivity – sometimes at a distance.

To protect their workforce, operating procedures and processes need to be formalized and tools initiated to ensure staff is kept safe. Employers must make employees feel confident in their workplace which can be done through communication helping to address employees’ concerns.

New policies and guidelines, including stricter hygiene measures, additional PPE where required, physical distancing, and a focus on protecting employees’ mental health as a priority during the pandemic, can be incorporated. Counseling services should be made available as needed to those employees’ returning after extended quarantines.

Employers are required to manage anticipated risks by recognizing potential changes and having a plan in place as to how their facility should react to such changes in advance. This ensures that any fluctuations are addressed rapidly and required actions are based on fact.

Communication during the pandemic isn’t impossible. A two-way dialogue between management and employees at all levels would ensure that concerns were addressed. For instance, supervisors collecting queries or concerns from team members every morning, and HR posting lists of full replies daily on company bulletin boards or monitors.

Workplace health and safety is the responsibility of every level team member in the manufacturing industry. Every member should know that they are at liberty to speak up about any issue that might concern themselves or others.

The importance of health and safety in the workplace can never be underestimated. It’s a duty and a moral responsibility of any manufacturing company to ensure all employees arrive home safely – each and every workday. But day by day it’s becoming clearer that all these actions taken wholeheartedly are not only an investment in the safety and well-being of the staff but also one of the best investments there is in the long-term success and productivity of a company.

The post Workplace Health and Safety<p class="company">Safer Workplaces for Greater Productivity</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Based in Arlington, Virginia, “ISEA is the trade association for companies that design, test, manufacture, and supply a wide range of personal protective equipment and personal safety equipment,” explains Senior Director of Policy Dan Glucksman.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) consists of items worn on the body such as safety glasses, hard hats, and high-visibility vests. COVID-related PPE gear includes protective garments, masks, respirators, and face shields. The personal safety equipment category covers emergency eyewash stations, shower units to wash off chemicals and contaminants, hand-held gas detectors, and the like.

ISEA has roughly eighty member companies, most of them equipment manufacturers or distributors. Members range from corporate giants like Honeywell and 3M to “small businesses and family-owned operations,” says Glucksman.

As a trade association, ISEA performs advocacy, public education, training, and writing industry standards. The association works closely with business groups, legislators, regulators, and industry standards organizations. Some of its most high-profile activity in recent years has involved the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).

Established in the late 1990s, the Strategic National Stockpile “is a secret network of warehouses scattered across the country, each one the size of several Walmart Supercenters,” noted a November 23, 2020 article on the NPR website.

These facilities maintain medicines, medical devices, and personal protective equipment that might be in high demand during “a manmade or natural public health emergency,” says Glucksman.

A man-made emergency might entail the release of biological weapons by a terrorist group or a toxic chemical leak. Natural health emergencies include disease pandemics.

When the H1N1 virus struck in 2009, the SNS proved its worth by distributing over 85 million N95 respirators. Due to budget shortfalls and supply chain issues, however, SNS’s full inventory of N95 masks was not replenished—a situation that alarmed ISEA.

“We had mentioned to the leaders of the SNS over the years, ‘Hey, you ought to restock those respirators you gave out,’” recalls Glucksman.

This did not happen, however, and when COVID was declared a pandemic in March 2020, federal officials sheepishly admitted the SNS only contained a limited supply of respirators. Many of these respirators were either outdated or “beyond their stated shelf life,” he adds.

Hospitals were experiencing a surge of patients, and high-quality respirators were needed to prevent healthcare staff and others from getting sick. Federal authorities decided to restock the SNS as quickly as possible. SNS leaders approached ISEA and asked for help. Could association members pitch in and rapidly provide vast numbers of surgical masks and N95 respirators? Companies rose to the challenge.

“ISEA members did provide the surgical N95s, regular N95s, and some of the surgical masks, and those products were supplied to the SNS over the course of fifteen to sixteen months,” states Glucksman proudly.

With COVID still lingering, SNS officials have been working closely with ISEA staff to maintain large stocks of protective gear. The association has also been advocating for something called vendor-managed inventory. Under such a system, a manufacturer contracted by SNS to make protective equipment would arrange for a certain amount of finished product to be set aside and warehoused. Doing so would ensure a ready supply of protective and safety equipment, for when a virus will strike in the future.

Similarly, ISEA strongly supports stable funding for two federal initiatives: the Hospital Preparedness Program, designed to help hospitals cope with increased numbers of patients following emergencies and disasters, and Public Health Emergency Preparedness grants.

Over the years, the association has forged strong ties with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The two organizations signed an alliance in June 2018, to collectively disseminate information about selecting, using, maintaining, and storing personal safety and protective gear.

This year, ISEA will be assisting with an OSHA initiative aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of falling objects on worksites. The association is also involved with OSHA’s heat illness prevention campaign which emphasizes the risk of excessive heat for workers in certain sectors.

Association members will be “sharing information about various products on the market to reduce heat stress,” Glucksman says.

ISEA was founded on July 31, 1933, at the height of the Depression. The association’s original purpose was to “control and set prices for PPE, to try to help the recovery from the Great Depression,” Glucksman says.

This mission eventually expanded, to include industry advocacy and other duties. Since the 1960s, the association has also helped write industry safety standards. ISEA today is an accredited Standards Developing Organization (SDO) with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) which sets voluntary standards for products, systems, processes, and workplace equipment. Standards are updated to accommodate new developments.

ISEA works with groups made up of representatives from industry, end-user companies, academia, and other organizations. Research is conducted, discussion is had, and the product group produces a draft standard. The draft is subjected to review and public input. If deemed acceptable, the draft will eventually become an American National Standard.

Through this comprehensive, painstaking approach, the association has helped develop a wide range of ANSI standards. ANSI/ISEA 121-2018, for example, is the American National Standard for Dropped Object Prevention Solutions, and this standard will be a focus of OSHA’s campaign on the dangers of falling objects at work. ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2020 is the American National Standard for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection Devices.

The association has most recently updated ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2021, the American National Standard—Minimum Requirements for Workplace First Aid Kits and Supplies. This standard is the benchmark for businesses required to maintain in-house first aid kits.

ISEA sits on ANSI committees covering everything from welding safety, to fall protection equipment, safety signs and colors, hearing protection, and eye and face protection. The association also has a presence on committees and sub-committees dedicated to head and respiratory protection, protective clothing, and other areas, for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which sets global standards. It provides input for ASTM (formerly, the American Society for Testing and Materials) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) as well.

The association runs a training initiative for manufacturer and distributor sales and marketing staff members. The intensive, week-long Qualified Safety Sales Professional Program (QSSP) aims to educate people who sell safety equipment about common workplace hazards and ways to protect workers from those hazards. OSHA general industry regulations are outlined in detail. Companies looking to purchase safety gear can count on qualified sales representatives to have a broad knowledge of the field.

Graduates become “a partner in safety, after passing the QSSP course, rather than a peddler of safety,” states Director Marketing & External Affairs Nicole Randall.

As for the future, expect a growing emphasis on telemetry within the protective equipment sector, says Glucksman. Telemetry is the science of monitoring and transmitting data and measurements via advanced tools. Someone working in a sewer, for example, could be fitted with sensors. Data collected by the sensors would be relayed to an office or an on-site manager. The worker(s) and on-site and office staff remotely monitoring their progress can be instantly alerted if the sensors note diminishing oxygen levels or other dangerous conditions.

He thinks the public and government agencies have become more aware of the need for protective equipment in general. The COVID pandemic drove home the importance of maintaining a robust federal stockpile, a message that has filtered down to state and local levels as well. “I think states will have their own stockpiles and not rely on the federal government. I think that awareness and planning might even go down to localities and regions,” he says of the future.

COVID also raised awareness of the vulnerability of U.S. manufacturing supply chains. Relying on overseas manufacturers to make protective equipment during global public health emergencies is not ideal. ISEA is involved in federal and White House committees looking at PPE supply issues.

“There is an increased focus by the federal government and some states about production in the United States… in respiratory protection, there is robust manufacturing of N95 respirators,” Glucksman says.

“COVID put a focus on preparedness in general, especially within the U.S. government. They want to make sure we never go through an episode, [where there is] a shortage of what we need. To that end, they have made it a point to form a closer bond with ISEA and its members. Dan often hosts meetings with White House staff and ISEA members to discuss what’s going on with the COVID response and make sure [a PPE shortage] never happens again. They are looking to ISEA members to help them do that, to use their expertise as manufacturers of the equipment,” adds Randall.

The post Keeping Employees From Harm: The International Safety Equipment Association Advocates for a Safer Workplace<p class="company">The International Safety Equipment Association</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

This employee-owned, domestic manufacturer has been trusted by North Americans for its durable safety apparel for over forty years, and business is great. Based at a 50,000-square-foot facility from 1979 to present, this industry expert added an impressive 24,000-square-foot warehouse to its existing footprint and other significant improvements like more office space to support its increasing expansion.

Its people are as important as its clients, therefore, as with everything it does, safety plays a major role across its entire facility. “We make products that help workers make it home to their families safely. Our mission is to provide workers everywhere with outstanding safety products made in the USA, tested to high standards, made and sold by our employee-owners,” says Andrew Wirts, Director of Sales and Marketing.

Since its inception in 1979, the company has cultivated, with great care, a culture of excellence. Based on five clear guidelines, safety comes first, and all of its people are trained to understand and value working safely and smartly. Quality is another of its driving principles, followed by continuously improving productivity and skill through sustained effort. Reducing waste by developing and honing lean systems that work well adds foresight and economy to the system. Every effort is made to translate the benefits derived from these principles into the overall customer experience.

NASCO’s popularity appears to be soaring as it upholds the most stringent safety standards for protective apparel in a market well-stocked with cheap knock-offs. These standards include the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM), National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), and International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA).

“NASCO is not only a member of these organizations, but we have a leadership role with the committees responsible for writing these standards. It is our responsibility to provide our expertise to potential customers to make sure they have the proper product to protect against their work hazards,” says Wirts.

Its most recent success is its introduction of a world-first product to serve the utilities and oil and gas industries. The fabric is “the thinnest, lightest protective rain gear possible today,” making it a global leader in worker comfort and safety in this apparel range. Both the ArcLite Air and PetroStorm ranges offer a lightweight, 5.5-ounce-per-square-yard product that protects the wearer from electric arc flashes, hydrocarbon flash fires, chemical splashes, and steam and hot liquids. Alongside this performance, the wearer’s safety is further enhanced by high roadside and night-time visibility.

To answer the growing demand for its products and make obtaining them as easy as possible for its clients and distributors, NASCO recently improved its e-commerce presence by introducing a new website. “The new site retained the resource-rich content but added new functionality to our distributors. Purchases can now be made directly from our site. Distributors can check inventory, confirm pricing, as well as gain access to all technical product information,” says Wirts.

The company is especially pleased by weathering the economic storm brought about by COVID-19 and thriving. “We needed to focus on communicating the best information we had as soon as possible. There was a lot of disinformation, even in the early moments of the pandemic. The human part of it was to ensure that everyone was safe and understood what was going on with this COVID issue,” says Todd Smith, President. When it came to business, the next step was to continue offering sufficient protection to the industries it serves.

NASCO was not led astray by the brief opportunity for short-term gains that was presented by demands for personal protective garments in the medical industry as this would ultimately have diluted its focus on its markets. Instead, the firm forged ahead, keeping its focus on its existing markets, a decision that is now producing great dividends.

“We chose to be the best company we could be for our customers who we knew would need us. We chose to communicate, to deal with the fear, and we tried to create a safe workplace, and we protected our core markets,” Smith adds.

It was during this time that the company’s leadership decided to consolidate all its smaller facilities into the one big footprint from which it works today. “There were a lot of difficulties but we did expand during COVID,” Smith says proudly.

Indeed, “NASCO has always believed in a strategy of leveraging technology to design, manufacture and market products. Early in the year 2000, NASCO became the first in our industry to launch a website,” Smith shares. “It was based on providing a digital platform to provide the market with relevant products, backed by rigorous testing and providing all that data to decision makers. In 2001, NASCO undertook the largest capital expenditure in the company’s history to install a new unit production system that allowed all cut pieces of a garment to travel together from one operator to the next. This increased capacity dramatically by allowing operators more time on task. Subsequently, after additional installations, all but one department utilizes this system,” he says.

“Furthermore, NASCO has had machines designed specifically for our manufacturing processes. Utilizing these customized machines allows one operator to do the work of what used to take three people to do.” Such improvements include a new digital cutter with integrated fabric spreading technology installed in the company’s cut, make, and sew department.

Furthermore, NASCO is employing business intelligence software that scans market trends to help it forecast the next big wave. “There is no such thing as crystal balls. We have to look for the best information [to] make decisions. So we are leveraging a type of artificial intelligence to begin that process,” Smith adds.

NASCO was founded on the bones of a well-known international tire fabricator that also manufactured rain gear. When that company left the facility where NASCO Industries, Inc. is now based, the rain gear equipment remained. “That rain gear goes back several decades. NASCO started, basically, on the ash heap of Uniroyal’s rain gear program. They were going to leave this facility and leave our small town,” says Wirts.

Instead, NASCO started manufacturing rain gear with a two-year exclusive contract committed to Uniroyal. When this contract ended, NASCO started evolving into what it is today by providing its markets with the apparel needed most.

NASCO has always been about people, becoming employee-owned in 1985. It has around one hundred dedicated team members upholding what the president calls consensus management, the antithesis of a hierarchical management system. “As employee-owners, we all share a common set of core values that makes our team special: honesty, respect, teamwork, and perseverance. Our value proposition is to reliably provide quality, safe, comfortable, and compliant protective products to our customers. We achieve this by leveraging the quality work of our employee-owners and proudly ‘Made in the USA,’” Smith says, pointing out that being on the same page makes it easier to move forward in business.

To ensure that everyone is indeed on the same proverbial page, the company regularly runs surveys to gauge the engagement levels of all working in the firm. A group of staff then works through the feedback to see whether and where change is necessary and how it can be implemented. This has proven to be a good way of gathering solid, honest information on how employees feel.

The results from embracing the feedback from these anonymous surveys are so positive that its management team sees the firm committing to this method long-term. “As an ESOP, we try to share how the company is doing at all times. We do have an annual shareholders’ meeting at the beginning of the year to recap how the prior year went and let them know what is coming in the future and what we are making. We try to keep the employees as up-to-date as possible with what is going on in the company, so there are no surprises,” says Jordan Sherman, Chief Financial Officer.

Caring also extends to its local communities as its contributions committee considers community requests for financial support. “We try to be good members of the community. So we set a budget and provide what we can when we can. When those requests come in, we see how they help the community,” says Sherman.

Looking at how the labor markets are changing and the company’s position within them, Smith cautions that the real long-term effects of COVID are yet to become evident, especially in terms of labor. He underlines NASCO’s continued commitment to employee wellbeing and job satisfaction. “We are all in competition for labor. I think the best companies will continue to survive. We consider ourselves one of the best companies. We do a lot. Our benefits to our employees are outstanding,” he says. With such unwavering commitment to everyone in its sphere, there is no doubt that NASCO Industries, Inc. remains on a winning streak.

The post Proudly American Safety Apparel<p class="company">NASCO Industries, Inc.</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

RONCO primarily serves the Canadian market while maintaining teams in China, Bangladesh, Malaysia and other manufacturing facilities in the east. The company works around the clock at peak efficiency and has successfully leveraged its position in the market to retain customers. President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Pecchioli defines the company’s identity today as protecting the “head, hand, and body,” of workers when it comes to working safely in today’s workspaces. In addition to workers, the company is also committed to protecting the end-user as well as the processes and applications themselves.

Quality has always been a cornerstone of the company’s business approach. Ron credits this focus to the employees and the work ethic they bring. The workforce provides a consistent quality product and aims to bring it to Canada and worldwide in a cost-effective manner.

Director of Marketing and Global Quality Vani Kshattriya adds that the work ethic is what helps separate RONCO from the pack. “A lot of other companies in PPE will undercut distributors or sells to users directly… We stick to a business model where we create customer partnerships because of the ethics and integrity in the way we do our business.”

This approach has led to long-lasting relationships with its clients, with some relationships even as old as the company itself. Vani praises the work of the company’s overseas teams as they frequently aid in transforming PPE solution ideas into physical products. The workforce worldwide is also responsible for fast and efficient response times, a key reason why customers keep coming back.

The company’s identity also lies in how it is regarded as one of the leaders in product innovation and development in PPE, a role it secures by finding existing gaps in the market and meeting those demands. RONCO keeps close ties with its distributors and focuses on the relationships cultivated with them; however, the market gaps are understood through communication with end-users, as the company works toward finding solutions that best serve all involved.

While Ron feels that every industry needs PPE solutions, he identifies the healthcare, food, and industrial markets as three that could especially benefit from protecting workers, users, and the product/process itself. From food workers using hairnets to factory workers using gloves, RONCO provides simpler products for everyday work and highly specialized products for more complex applications like pharmaceutical, hospital, or automotive manufacturing workplaces.

Indeed, the company has seen a marked boost in PPE use across the board since the advent of COVID-19 in 2020, with many non-traditional markets seeking solutions and customers at all levels becoming much more educated in using PPE.

RONCO is a partner in McMaster University’s Center of Excellence in Protective Equipment Materials (CEPEM), a collaborative effort to bring innovation to product offerings and new technologies to bear on the development of products to increase efficiencies and provide better protection and comfort.

In 2021, the company also opened a new mask manufacturing plant in Woodbridge, Ontario, with the ability to produce three types of masks: two types of N95 masks and one type of surgical mask with three levels of protection (ASTM Level 1, 2 and 3). RONCO used the unprecedented circumstances of COVID-19 to branch out even more than before, with continuing positive results.

Ron touts the familial atmosphere of RONCO as having brought the company to the prominent status it enjoys today. Vani further adds that many of her colleagues in the company have been there for the twenty-five years the company has been active, and that much pride is taken in the simple things around the workplace because it is considered a home. Above all, the workforce believes that they are in a business that makes a difference.

During the early days of the pandemic, the teams came together and worked day and night to supply frontline workers with materials and keep them safe at a very uncertain time. “We didn’t have to force people to work; in fact, I had to kick people out!” Ron laughs. Protecting the workers of Canada gave the workforce a great deal of pride.

Top-driven culture has ignited dedication in the employees, something that is visible every day in words and actions. Employees truly feel like part owners in the business because its success is important to everyone.

Many challenges still exist for RONCO and other companies navigating the PPE space. There is currently a degree of volatility within the market as many businesses face supply chain issues, while conflicts like the current war in Ukraine add further uncertainty.

After the pandemic began, many companies entered the PPE market but did not have a strong understanding of it. This led to these outfits purchasing products with less attention to quality and safety standards. The market has since come under more control, but a lot of pressure has been created due to lower-quality products and less buyer confidence in PPE as a result.

Vani sees the industry as very fragmented right now, with multi-national players sharing the stage with established companies like RONCO and smaller businesses as well. This fragmentation has increased the need for companies in the industry to become self-sufficient and continue growth, a priority which can be helped by Canadian customers choosing PPE products manufactured domestically.

RONCO remains a recognizable industry name with a proven track record and hopes to eventually become self-sustaining. The one guiding principle that has remained true since day one is that the company wants to grow in Canada and promote made-in-Canada products to those who need them.

An upcoming milestone for RONCO will be the opening of an additional Chinese factory in June of this year to produce non-woven products, like coveralls, lab coats, and shoe covers. Vani emphasizes that Canada is still the company’s main market, and the pandemic refocused its energies on its home country as it was felt to be its responsibility.

The company is once again exploring more sales opportunities in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, and China, and plans for further expansion are back on track. RONCO has even returned to the global stage through international trade shows to show off its products. The company will also be expanding its new line of sustainable products called RONCO Earth; currently, the line consists of a nitrile examination glove that biodegrades faster in landfills.

In the past twenty-five years, RONCO has been lauded for its efforts in PPE by publications, industry associations, and even the government of Ontario. “There are very few companies in the PPE space making a difference like we are,” Vani says. Ron believes that a company is only as good as the people it has, and the people and quality on display at RONCO continue to prove that to this day.

The post Protecting the Head, Hand, and Body of Workers<p class="company">RONCO</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

At Superior Fabrication Company, long-term partnerships trump short-term gains, making it an easy and efficient firm with which to collaborate. For those in original equipment manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, and several other sectors, Superior Fabrication Company serves as a contract heavy metal fabricator favored for producing quality heavy-duty welding, forklift mast assemblies that handle 100,000 lbs. and beyond, and bespoke components rendered from metal thicker than one inch – like the pivot body truck frames it is currently building in great numbers for mining companies.

The company is also well-known for the quality machining, welding, and high tolerances of its hydraulic fracking pumps, which are notoriously challenging to fabricate. A subsidiary of The Reserve Group (TRG), the company has a deep understanding of the heavy metal industry and has access to group-wide resources and easy collaboration among sister companies. These include a pressure-vessel facility and a super-heavy fabrication facility dealing with railroads and similar.

“Some mining vehicles have pressure vessels on top of them. We benefit from that by [addressing] fabrication work collaboratively. Sometimes that goes beyond just the Superior Fabrication brand. Now we are providing more comprehensive solutions to people as a result of these cross-brand capabilities,” says Rob Polich, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Superior Fabrication’s clients also benefit from TRG’s strong buying power, giving it access to better prices and often improved resources as a result.

In addition, the company offers clients a full-fledged engineering department with a solid knowledge base. “Because of our mast business, we have a [solid] engineering department which can assist in many ways, especially on first article inspections,” Polich adds, explaining that this initial prototype fabrication has to be to the exact standards upheld under contract fabrication.

Polich also highlights how imperative transparency is at Superior Fabrication. “I have personally studied the fabrication market and found it very opaque. People do not like to show you what is going on behind the curtain. You are not provided updates; you are not shown what is going on. We don’t engage with customers like that,” he says. For this reason, communication is considered to be of the essence, and clients receive regular progress reports and photographs to keep them up to speed with their fabrications while in the manufacturing process. But there is yet more to this dynamic company than first meets the eye.

Superior Fabrication Company also fabricates capital equipment, on- and off-road truck fabrications, dewatering and environmental equipment, charging systems and conveyors, specialty vehicle frames, and much more. Furthermore, its fabrication systems include all the elements needed to take projects from start to finish, including engineering, assembly, inspection, end of line testing, and painting.

There are always new partners signing up. As such, the company welcomed some fifteen first-time visitors to its plants just last year, adding to its impressive existing client base. And in a bid to build confidence and share expertise, such prospective clients are also free to conduct tests on its components and systems in-house. “That is not common in the industry. Even when we engage with a new prospect, we have every department’s managerial person there to address questions and discuss their subject matter and area of respective expertise. As a result, we’re much more successful – and we have more partnerships than we have customers,” Polich shares.

These efforts are supported by formal weekly progress meetings where the engineering and production teams meet with clients to iron out any possible challenges and ensure that they are on the right track. “We are not a one-off fabricator; we’re not interested in short-term work. Conversely, we seek long-term partners. We’re particular about who we engage with, and we expect them to be particular about who they trust,” he says.

To this end, every project is handled by a focused manager offering singular attention to every detail – including timelines and budgets. And Superior Fabrication’s after-sales service is just as robust, with all parts and service requirements being met and taken care of to the same high standards.

This approach brings us to an unlikely philosophy about clients and business in general. Albeit also very refreshing, the term ‘empathy’ is not one that you naturally and easily imagine when you think of heavy metal fabrication. Here, however, empathy is implied at the beginning of every sentence. And it is a trait that this dynamic leader holds very dear, both personally and professionally. The company’s transparency is only one of the ways in which it shows empathy to its partners; another way in which it displays empathy is by mitigating clients’ risk factors where possible, as with material management issues, complex processes, difficult tolerances, and the like. Whatever is needed to ensure clients feel confident and secure throughout the project, the Superior Fabrication team goes the extra mile to provide.

“[We offer] effective communication targeted at their greatest areas of concern and risk. We like to mitigate risk for both us and the client. A successful partnership for us is the mitigation of mutual risk. Many times we find commonalities; this is the value of transparent partnering,” Polich says.

Sprawled across 150,000 square feet of what sounds much like a movie set, the former Cold War strategic command air force base the company calls home is as fascinating as the work it does. Operative during the full-on tensions with Russia between the 1950s and 1980s, the company began its life as a military fabricator. Today, the facility comprises three buildings housing its office and fabrication facility spread across two gargantuan B52 Stratofortress aircraft hangars connected with a passage. There is more than enough space to create greatness – even for large, 30-foot-plus-long fabrications.

Superior Fabrication regularly invests in new technology, making the company the proud owner of seven robotic cells, a collection that will soon expand to several more. This fall will also see the implementation of new enterprise resource planning software that will help to further streamline its systems to provide clients with even better all-around speed, quality, and service. Superior Fabrication is also the proud owner of such trusted material handling brands as Knickerbocker, Brudi, and Swingshift.

With the significant current growth in heavy fabrication in sectors such as construction, agriculture, oil and gas, mining, and more, Superior Fabrication’s team of seventy is appreciated beyond belief. “We’re a customer-centric team. There’s very little sense of titles here. We all work very collaboratively to delight the customer,” Polich says with the sincere smile of a leader who knows that being too serious is unhealthy – both for business and morale.

“We have a good time doing it. It’s a fun place to work. I’m proud that we have a very approachable culture,” he adds, pointing out that being a great fit culturally is one of the best perks for customers.

“They always like the tempo, the personalities, the open expression that we have, culturally. We’re more interested in serving our customers than serving our hierarchy inside the organization,” Polich says of this wholesome, ego-free workplace where gag gifts and celebrated wins are equally common occurrences. And, speaking of tempo, this fantastic team is growing as new opportunities continue to roll in. Its success stands to reason, however. Superior Fabrication has turned blending its partners’ teams seamlessly with its own into a fine art, ensuring that every project rolls smoothly from start to finish while underpromising and overdelivering – every time. Just as its work promises to outlast the competition, its quality and dedication do the same.

The post Pulling Back the Curtain – Resourceful, Transparent Fabrication With a Smile<p class="company">Superior Fabrication Company</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

One such product is the desiccant breather. These devices prevent moisture and particles from entering equipment when it ‘breathes’ when air expands and contracts as a result of changing temperature or displacement in hydraulic systems. Without a device like this, the lubricant will become contaminated and, over time, the machinery like pumps or gearboxes will accumulate damage.

In the last few years, Des-Case has undergone some big changes that have led to significant growth. In 2018, it acquired RMF Systems, a company based in Holland that is leading the European market in products designed for hydraulic oil and lubricant cleanliness. It has continued to expand its footprint in Europe and the Middle East since that time, and most recently, it opened offices in Shanghai, China and Mumbai, India.

Making these strides in expansion can be attributed to adding key members to the team of approximately 120 employees. A strategic alignment in early 2021 led to a few organizational changes. Part of the initiative included welcoming new Chief Executive Officer, Marcus Pillion, as well as new Chief Commercial Officer, Jason Bendon. Under their leadership, the company expects to proceed with further expansion and acquisition going forward.

Given the unique circumstances of the last two years, it is particularly impressive that Des-Case has seen such success in global expansion. While so many manufacturing companies struggled to outlast the pandemic, Des-Case has found a way to not only survive but grow. Throughout the pandemic, production reliability has been a huge concern, and this is where the team has proven its value.

“Especially for plants that suffered shutdowns or had less people on staff, reliability was a big focus. So, we helped a lot of those reliability maintenance managers with training; we offered a lot of webinars, and we went fully digital really quickly,” says Head of Marketing Franziska Martin.

Already familiar with digital output before the pandemic, the company concentrated its attention after 2020 on providing weekly webinars to the many customers who were interested in staying informed. One of the primary objectives of these helpful webinars was to educate manufacturers on how to keep equipment clean during a planned shutdown or when production gets backed up so as to maintain the life of the equipment.

The shift to remote work was more challenging for the sales team, accustomed to traveling and making sales visits in person with customers. This was particularly a hindrance for the European offices that were in lockdown for a much longer period. Sales teams are no longer confined to virtual visits, and they are happy to be out and about once again.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic had little effect on the company’s business demand and growth, the resulting supply chain shortages have been a challenge more recently. Fortunately, Des-Case has had no major issues producing its breathers, unlike many of its competitors in the industry at this time. The only constraints are pertaining to supply chain shortages of truck drivers and logistical challenges of on-time shipments to other countries.

A key beneficial aspect of improving digital platforms in the last two years is that it helped to develop and bring together the global team as it expanded. “Working just through digital platforms as a team and then having new members start in China and India, it felt almost normal. Now we still haven’t met them in person because travel restrictions are still in place in certain countries, but it helped make them feel like part of the team even if they weren’t necessarily in the same country,” says Martin.

In six out of the past seven years, Des-Case has continued to be named one of the Top Workplaces in Tennessee by The Tennessean newspaper. The staff members choose to stay and grow their careers here because of the company’s commitment to creating a positive workplace culture, and the high number of long-tenured employees proves it.

Another reason people choose to stick with Des-Case is the excitement of working with such an innovative company, currently leading the industry in lubricant cleanliness. It is a company always focused on enhancing the performance of its products to serve its customers better with long-lasting solutions. For example, in 2019, the company found a way to improve its desiccant breathers and increase the airflow, which extends the life expectancy considerably.

Indeed, “People make the difference in our business. We are fortunate to have such a hardworking, driven organization that also values the importance of having fun as well. It is a joy and honor for Des-Case to continue to be recognized for this distinction,” says Marcus Pillion, CEO of Des-Case.

Des-Case offers one of the broadest ranges of breathers available on the market. Another product the company is highlighting is its hydraulic offline oil filtration system. It is a dedicated filtration unit designed to remove solid particles and water from the oil.

In 2020, the company also launched a remote diagnostic monitoring solution in the form of a subscription program. The IsoLogic® sensor technology provides the company’s breathers with the first remote diagnostic tool of its kind. It is operated via Bluetooth, and its sensors collect valuable information to monitor the reliability of the breathers. The subscription program allows the company to proactively monitor this data for its customers.

This comprehensive solution is especially appealing to the large OEM market. “The IsoLogic® breather can be mounted on remote or hard-to-access equipment, thus decreasing lube routes and minimizing the risks of falls when trying to access hard to reach areas,” explains Martin. “It’s one way of making a workplace safer for employees just by not having to check on equipment.”

Raising awareness and keeping its customers informed is an essential secondary priority of the business. “We are the original provider of the desiccant breather, and we are still the industry leader in reliability products and services that extend the life of industrial lubricants. I think what sets us apart from the competition is we not only sell the products, we also educate the market. Des-Case is recognized as an industry ‘Thought Leader’ in equipment reliability and lubrication and part of our offering is to pass that knowledge on to our customers. We want them to know what’s in their oil and what they can do about it because there has to be predictive and preventive maintenance options to support it,” says Martin.

The Des-Case team spreads awareness by speaking at symposiums and trade shows, publishing articles from the service team, on-site education in the field, and hosting its free webinars.

Additionally, the company has two demonstration trucks that are used for educating its customers and distributors. The Mobile Reliability Experience was launched in 2016 but due to the pandemic, it had a slow start. “Now out all over North America, this is a great tool for any customers to learn and observe lubrication best practices in a state-of-the-art reliability truck,” explains Martin. “Our sales team demonstrates how to protect and clean lubricants throughout their lifecycle, as well as assess critical assets and provide product samples to show [return on investment].” The trucks also came in handy when manufacturing plants were still inaccessible since they were able to park outside the building to have people visit in a safe environment.

Known for providing quality desiccant breathers for almost forty years, Des-Case now offers much more. “With the whole educational aspect, it’s a holistic approach. From the beginning to the end, we have products and offerings that support your company and your lubrication program,” says Martin.

In the future, Des-Case looks forward to a steady path of growth. It has plans to continue to expand both organically and through acquisitions. By building its sales force in its current locations and branching out to new countries, the company’s goal is to serve the market on a larger scale. “Des-Case’s workforce is as strong as ever and as we continue to grow globally; we are excited about what the future holds,” says Pillion.

The post The Original Provider of the Desiccant Breather<p class="company">Des-Case Corporation</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

“We’ve built everything from assembly lines for Boeing commercial aircraft to monorail systems to transfer fuselage components for Spirit AeroSystems. HSC has provided a variety of material handling systems for Peterbilt Motors such as shuttle cranes, storage and retrieval systems, and monorails, along with custom tooling. One of our defense contractor customers is Lockheed; we make all kinds of products for them,” states Andrew Everett, company president and one of its founders. “We’ve built systems that handle railcars, concrete vaults, oil field products, turbine blades, paper products and just about anything you can think of in between. Most of what HSC builds is for items weighing from a few hundred pounds to items weighing 50 to 100 tons.”

Other prominent clients include Toyota, Ford, General Motors, SpaceX, Caterpillar, Harley-Davidson and many military and government contractors. Most customers are based in the United States, although the firm has done projects in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Aside from control systems, which are manufactured by subcontractors, it self-performs most of its services.

In addition to the head office in Little Rock, HSC has branches in Fort Worth and Houston in Texas and Montgomery and Mobile in Alabama. Recently HSC purchased a new facility near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Chattanooga branch will be used for light manufacturing to augment the main manufacturing operations in Little Rock and Fort Worth. Conveyor components are primarily manufactured in Little Rock while Fort Worth and Chattanooga manufacture Bridge Crane systems.

In the beginning, the business model primarily centered on conveyors. That focus eventually broadened to include cranes. As for the company’s enduring success, Everett points to the talented, dedicated workforce.

“We have great people. It takes a lot of good people to make a company go, and we have really good people from top to bottom,” he states. Other differentiators that have helped HSC survive and thrive include innovative products and stellar customer care.

“I can’t speak for other people but we spend a lot of time training our technicians. They understand the systems and the electronics as well as the mechanical components. This gives our technicians an advantage in the quick diagnosis of problems, resulting in faster repair which in turn means less downtime. Our customers don’t deal with us because of our competitive pricing; they deal with us because of our response and expertise. That’s what I think separates us from others. [Clients] know HSC will get it done right the first time, resulting in less downtime,” he explains.

While HSC uses standard structural components, equipment it produces is generally customized to client specifications. Within the conveyor category, popular products include power and free conveyors, slat conveyors, towline conveyors, and more. In the crane category, it excels at box girder cranes, gantry cranes, work station cranes, jib cranes and tank-line cranes, among other items.

While the bulk of the equipment it makes is one-of-a-kind, HSC also offers a pair of trademarked products called “Smarthoist” and “Smartcrane.” “These are fully automated x-, y-, and z-axis systems for handling precise movements without people in the processes. This provided a higher level of safety within the process,” says Everett.

Most factory cranes are operated manually with radio or pendant controls. By contrast, Smartcrane and Smarthoist feature linear encoders and a programmable logic controller (PLC). These high-tech solutions can control crane motions, safeguarding the process and the operator.

HSC has been musing about the possibility of launching a consumer products line. Over the years, company engineers have “designed some pretty interesting consumer products,” says Everett, mostly for their personal needs at home or on the ranch. He cites a product that attaches to a four-wheeler or tractor to clear brush as an example. Certain legal and regulatory issues must be sorted out before a consumer line is launched, however. Once these matters are settled, a final decision will be made regarding consumer goods.

It is a safe bet that any consumer items HSC develops will adhere to the same stringent quality controls that have guided the company for decades. It belongs to several industry groups, including the Crane Manufacturers of America (CMAA) and Material Handling Institute (MHI) which describes itself as the “largest U.S. material handling and logistics association,” and the company follows guidelines set by these and other organizations.

HSC has also implemented tough training and inspection policies. Components and completed equipment are subjected to rigorous and repeated in-house inspections while staff receive comprehensive, continuous training. “Whether they’re welders or electricians, they are continuously updated, trained, and certified,” Everett says.

It offers a slew of ancillary services on top of the equipment it supplies. The company will deliver and install cranes and conveyors anywhere in the United States, at union and non-union plants alike. When performing installation duties at a unionized facility, HSC will assign a superintendent then recruit laborers from the local union hall. In right-to-work states or at non-union plants, it simply sends a crew of its own to do installations.

Upgrades and rebuilds represent another service. Clients can bring their equipment to HSC, or the company will travel to the customer’s worksite. In similar fashion, the company does crane and hoist inspections. Annual inspections of such equipment are required under Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and CMAA regulations. It can provide fully-trained and certified inspectors to perform these duties.

Load testing is yet another specialty. Cranes must be load tested prior to initial use or after any major repair or rebuild. These are important safety requirements of OSHA and CMAA. Protection of the workers and safe operations are what HSC services are about.

“We’ve load-tested up to seventy-five tons. It’s done in a variety of ways. Each of our facilities has usually 60,000 – 75,000 pounds of plate steel that we use for testing. At customer locations where water is readily available, tests can be done with water bags; fill them up and you can test just about anything. Other times, we will rent weights from a mobile crane company or a heavy equipment company. We’ve rented coiled steel from a steel warehouse. We have scales we hang from the crane hooks to measure exactly what the test load is,” explains Everett.

The company also conducts safety training, usually at a client’s worksite. Safety trainers from HSC are industry-certified and aware of the latest safety-related measures and regulations. Available training courses include lessons on machine guarding, occupational noise exposure, fire prevention, combustible and flammable liquids, personal protective equipment, and welding and cutting safety. It recently hired a staffer to develop podcasts and videos to complement the company’s in-person safety sessions.

The firm employs about one hundred people at present, up from roughly ninety this time last year. New hires must demonstrate a solid work ethic, a customer-first ethos, and a willingness to travel. It is also important that they be unafraid of heights; constructing cranes and conveyors can entail working “fifty to one hundred feet in the air.”

Anyone who wants a job at HSC is expected to embrace the company’s core values, which consist of dependability, quality, and professionalism. “That’s what we’re looking for throughout our entire organization. We want people who do quality work, who are dependable, and who are professional with all our customers,” says Everett. “We like to think of our employees as a family. We try to do the right thing all the time by our customers, and it’s the same with our employees. We try to treat everybody with respect.”

The company’s concern for its employees was evident during the COVID crisis. When the pandemic struck, HSC enhanced cleaning efforts with outside cleaners brought in to sanitize the facility and initiated other strategies to prevent infection. Despite these changes, work did not slow down. For the most part, the manufacturers to which it supplies were deemed essential businesses and not required to close.

As a result, it was business as usual throughout the worst of the pandemic. “We didn’t lose a step through COVID,” notes Everett.

COVID aside, the company is also dealing with the labor shortage affecting industry across North America. A low unemployment rate means there is not a big pool of people looking for work. “The biggest limiting factor in us growing is people. Adding people that have technical skills, that are willing to work, that have a strong work ethic. It’s a very tight labor market,” he states.

Still, he envisions a very bright future and projects rising revenues. These forecasts were developed through number-crunching research and discussions at company meetings.

“We plan for the future. We try to sit down every few years and update our plans. A year ago, we made our long-term projections. We did a three-year plan that has HSC at about $60 million in revenue and about ten percent EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization). At five years, we expect to be in the $80-million range with comparable EBITA. There’s a lot more to each of those [projections] but that’s the high level view of it,” says Everett.

The post Moving Parts<p class="company">Handling Systems & Conveyors</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

ProPart Modular’s answer to the challenge of keeping quality construction affordable and fast is System 40™. This versatile and patented wall system is environmentally friendly, clean, and offers major cost savings. This means that the end of one configuration or project is simply the beginning of another.

From its base at a modern 25,000-square-foot facility in Burlington, Ontario, ProPart Modular has operated mainly in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) area for forty-one years. The company has also sold its ready-to-assemble kits to several industries internationally, and it is now looking to team up with industry partners from all over North America.

Requests for the company’s ingenious System 40™ started rolling in from across the continent catapulting it from a thriving local modular construction outfit to a modular wall system manufacturer to watch in as little time as it took COVID-19 to disrupt supply chains across the United States and Canada.

“Through the pandemic, we had quite a few companies reach out [due to] material shortages and supply chain issues. We started shipping our product to various customers in New Brunswick, British Columbia, [and elsewhere] just in kit form, and then they found local installation services,” says President Ryan Frankland.

This new demand became a growth opportunity that allowed the company to expand its reach.

Keeping the wolf from the door during times of transition all comes down to planning, as one longstanding automotive fabrication client could attest when its in-house floor space requirements dropped significantly due to technological advances in its manufacturing systems. The ProPart modular team was at the ready to reduce the number of walls to suit its needs, while the salvaged materials were repurposed elsewhere.

“There are a lot of cost savings over the lifespan of a business. Things are going to change, and it was highlighted by this pandemic,” Frankland says.

The company’s products are incredibly versatile. From office partitions and interiors to industrial plant solutions, controlled environments, and prefabricated buildings, System 40™ is fast becoming the favourite of architects, designers, and engineers across the continent. Currently, clients in Ontario benefit from comprehensive services that include design, supply, and installation, while trade partners further afield can order complete System 40™ kits for self-installation.

“We provide material and support around the clock for a seamless installation. We received high accolades in reference to saving the customer much time, money, and potential hardship,” Frankland says proudly.

The product is easy to order and lends itself to smooth design and project management. Of its current projects, about sixty percent focus on re-configuring systems installed in the past. This includes a client that is reconfiguring existing modules and expanding into a new 8,000-square-foot modular cleanroom.

The product “is green, clean, reusable,” says Frankland, and since it lasts, “It also brings great connections with customers.” In the process, trade partners now can offer their customers a state-of-the-art modular solution that performs to top standards.

“I call it a win-win relationship. They have a new avenue of business, and we have more people we can help. The goal for us is to expand our geographical reach through partnerships,” Frankland adds.

The company works hand-in-hand with clients to create the perfect fit for each modular construction it installs. Its system is easy and clean to erect, without the rubble and dust generated by conventional construction and drywalling; therefore, customers can be back in business in no time.

As all construction elements are provided by ProPart, there are no trade-related delays either. Its fast-to-erect panels are joined with no mechanical fasteners. The corners offer airtight seals, making it perfect for clients that require standards as demanding as the International Standards Organization (ISO’S) Class 7 certification for cleanrooms, for instance. The panels are treated to keep contamination build-up as low as possible while having a fire resistance of at least one hour.

For North American businesses that value environmental stewardship, the SYSTEM 40™ is surprisingly ecologically-responsible and is deemed a sustainable building method. It takes the metal from only eight recycled cars to erect sufficient metal framing for a 2,000-square-foot construction.

Frankland joined the company in 2007, starting in the sales department and advancing from there. With the sad and sudden passing of his father around nine years later, he took over the president’s chair in November 2016 and is grateful today for the lessons learned back then.

The company itself is the direct result of System 40™. The product was developed toward the end of the 1960s but the company took over the wall system when it opened its doors in 1981. Its legacy of teamwork survives to this day.

The ProPart team is a tight-knit group of nearly thirty dedicated industry experts, and that dedication shows in the length of tenures that typically stretch over several decades. “We follow our values. Growth, respect, integrity, and, the most important one: teamwork,” says Frankland, who notes that the company fosters a “very family-like,” atmosphere since “everyone’s been around each other for such a long time.”

He also points out the importance of hiring to support and deepen the culture of a business. One of the firm’s secrets is the amount of work that goes into understanding its people’s personalities and how they work together best. The company wants to set itself “up for success, so culture is very important,” he adds.

That includes its continued culture of embracing change. As the construction industry rallied to mitigate the effects of supply chain issues, ProPart Modular proved that thinking out of the box is vital in responding to current markets. The company will continue honing this aspect in the same way its systems allow clients to be flexible, passing on benefits and growing alongside them.

Any architects, engineers, general contractors, integrators, dealers, et cetera that are interested in a potential partnership, please reach out directly to Ryan Frankland @ partners@pro-part.com.

The post Durable, Fast and Flexible: A Modular Wall System That Embraces Change<p class="company">ProPart Modular</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Russell currently has a labor presence in more than fourteen U.S. states, building industrial and federal government facilities, schools, hotels for multi-national chains, and much more.

President Caitlin Russell describes the company as a “customer-centric solutions provider in the built environment space. We provide anything to help make [projects] happen,” she says.

This means that the team identifies clients’ exact needs, whether that be suitable land, scrupulous real estate brokers, or building plans. “We differentiate ourselves by [leaving] the box. We are very partner-based throughout our organization,” a key element in any project’s success, Caitlin adds. The company offers real estate development, Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) technologies, and more, including experience in LEED-certified and Green Globes construction, giving the team a thorough understanding of environmental stewardship on mainstream commercial and federal projects.

At present, Russell is celebrating several recent mergers, including the acquisition of a St. Louis-based contractor with a 100-year legacy almost two years ago. In January 2022, Russell acquired Olathe, Kansas-based Merit General Contractors, founded by Don Crabtree in 1991. Russell also added several key players from Manning Construction to its Kansas City outfit only a few weeks ago in a bid to continue expanding its presence throughout the Midwest. “Looking to provide [opportunities] for our people is what it comes down to,” says Caitlin. “We have a strong team member base, and they [always want] to do more and grow themselves. We feel that growing as an organization gives people opportunities for individual and [professional] growth.”

Russell was founded in Iowa in 1983 by Caitlin’s father James Russell, who is also father to Sam Russell, the Director of the Kansas City operation. Company legend has it that the firm’s accountant counseled caution after its first five years in business, nudging Jim Russell to move onto perhaps more lucrative pursuits. Luckily for the company, Jim Russell would hear none of it and persisted in following his passion.

Today, the company is proof of what faith, commitment, and determination to succeed can do for anyone with a dream. It also helps to have a team behind you. As it happens, Caitlin and Sam’s grandmother was their father’s first member of staff, helping out both in the office as well as financially, in the early months.

To “grow the firm, we had to take on projects outside the Quad Cities. We travel for work and our clients, and we are very proud of [our repeat client] metric,” says Caitlin, pointing out that today, as much as forty percent of the company’s revenue is earned in areas beyond the borders of its hometown.

The secret to its flourishing trade is deceptively simple. “It’s important to have cultural alignment with the client. We always want to bring the right team members to the table to best serve each client,” she adds.

Considering this robust and transparent approach to meeting clients’ needs, it is no wonder that clients report an appreciation for Russell treating their money as if it were its own. “That’s impactful to me because that’s how we want our clients to feel. We want them to feel like we are an extension of them. We have their best interest in mind, and we’re there to provide them with the opportunity to make decisions. It’s not our end product. This is their money and their product. We’re there to help them through that process,” Caitlin says.

The result is that large companies like Cargo Largo, a 65-year-old player in the City of Independence’s local retail and e-commerce market, trust Russell to build the infrastructure they need from which to expand their commerce and territories. As director of the Kansas City operation, Sam Russell shared some of the features of this most recent flagship project with us.

Measuring in at around 630,000 square feet, the facility’s design for its handling and conveyor systems is impressive. It includes distribution spaces, warehousing, call center capacity, light manufacturing, functional areas for retail and e-commerce, enough room for auctions and business-to-business / business-to-consumer sales venues, plus ample and organized car and truck parking lots.

The Cargo Largo project “is a built-to-suit building for a unique client that [resells] retail, repackaging and then selling unopened boxes to the general public,” he says, adding that the team broke ground “just over two months ago. The expected completion date is in March of 2023,” showcasing the great speed at which a project of this size can be completed by the team. Dee Pack, the owner of the Cargo Largo project, could not be happier.

“It’s all about performance. Russell/Cargo Largo is consolidating six locations into one [to expand] our capacity to serve. The stakes are high,” says Dee. He is especially satisfied with the team’s flexibility, knowledge, and that everyone is committed to finding solutions to challenges. “We need a partner who can deliver the job on a basis that allows us to maintain the high service levels we provide [to] our audiences. We chose Russell because of their personnel’s proven track record delivering similar [buildings] to quality, timeline, and budgetary expectations,” he adds.

Finding the right people for every position throughout an organization is the goal of every good company around the globe, and Russell attracts and retains innovative team players with integrity. In return, the company offers a flexible work environment where accountability and engagement rank high. Caitlin’s father “deserves a lot of credit for being adaptable and looking forward to change. That is what allowed us to grow and take on new projects and add team members,” she adds.

Universal paid time off is also flexible, allowing “adults to be adults,” as the president puts it. She also remarks that staff members do not take enough vacation, despite having the freedom to do so.

The company believes in making the recruitment process smooth to get new employees trained, on the team, and working as soon as possible. “Team members are a reflection of us. They are the people that repeat clients come back for. When you think of Russell, it comes down to our people. They’re the ones making the impact on all these people,” says Caitlin.

To support its people, the company gives them what they need to thrive so that clients will have the best experience when working with the company. “Giving people the autonomy and the tools to be effective is key to our success,” she adds.

Taking care of its people’s safety is also a big deal for a company that works to ensure its customers’ and its staff’s well-being on every project. “Safety is our number one core value. [It] is above all else when it comes to what we do. [We make] sure that everybody’s going home, and that everybody’s working safely,” says Sam.

This is about more than the physical safety of staff and site visitors. Russell recently started putting increased importance on good mental health and wellness. “COVID highlighted the challenges [that] the mental state can have on safety. We just recently revamped our core values, and that was one of the things that we as a team thought was important to add,” says Caitlin.

By paying for any type of counseling that any members of staff or their families may need and by providing an in-house coach to support professional growth, the company is exhibiting a genuine commitment to the future and happiness of its team. Because, after all, recent years have taught us that unhealthy mental states can cost people their lives, and this is simply too high a price to pay when intervention is readily available and free of the stigma that historically hounded those who received counseling.

The company encourages people to make sure “that they are taking care of their mind as much as they are of their bodies,” Caitlin says. She proudly illustrates that the team’s much appreciated “desire to innovate and be better than they were the day before,” are stand-out traits that make the Russell team tenacious and dynamic which meant a lot when COVID-19 raised challenges.

However, COVID also provided an opportunity to prepare the company for any similar situations to come. Thanks to being on top of all the latest technology that makes remote work possible and the personal commitment and drive of each team member, the company could trust each employee to help pull through what was, and remains, arguably the toughest economic challenge of the past decade.

The experience has also led to Russell future-proofing its operations in ways that enable it to responsibly grow its stakes in the United States’ construction market. Now it is set to continue growing its teams and providing them with everything they need to continue providing customers with the best service.

The post This Contractor with a Difference Makes Projects Happen<p class="company">Russell</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

PPE is ultimately any equipment or garment that is designed to protect the wearer from risk of heat, electricity, chemicals, biohazards, airborne particles, physical injury or infection. Garments are designed for optimal fit, effective function and to ensure that the needs of the wearer are being met. This means it has had to evolve as the nature of work and work environments have changed.

And it’s not only the work and environment that can change; for instance, consider the fact that more women are now entering construction and industrial careers – work that has long been very male-dominated. This has caused an emerging need for more equipment tailored to a woman’s body type in these sectors.

Another change, obvious to us all in recent years, is the PPE evolution in response to COVID-19. The pandemic has changed the way PPE is source, designed, fabricated and used – and also how it is regarded. In addition to the more traditional protective clothing and gear, such as helmets, goggles, reinforced footwear, and fall arrest equipment, biological protection has now become common even outside hospitals and laboratories. Masks, face shields and gloves have been added or integrated into the PPE repertoire and utilized by a larger cohort of workers in a wider range of industries and sectors.

Today, you can find retail workers relying on the same protection. Those who interact with the public are relying on PPE to protect themselves and mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus just as industrial workers have relied on them for protection on jobsite and in factory settings for many years.

Classifying PPE

While PPE is required by law in many settings, it depends on the jurisdiction to legislate whether or not it is the outright responsibility of employers to offer these supplies to workers free of cost. Whether it is the responsibility of the worker or the employer to ensure PPE is utilized, it should be worn where risks exist.

There are four levels of classification of PPE according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):

Level A: Level A PPE offers the highest level of protection, defending workers against respiratory hazards, skin exposure and contaminants of the eyes. Examples include full-body suits, air respirators, steel-toed boots, chemical resistant gloves, hardhats and helmets to protect against highly toxic environments with high risk exposure to gasses, vapours and chemical splashes.

Level B: The second to highest classification of PPE places greater protective emphasis on the respiratory system versus the skin and eyes. Examples include two-piece suits, coveralls and long-sleeves and other gear that protects from the risk of exposure to airborne gases.

Level C: This category of PPE is designed to protect against measurable concentrations of airborne substances where there is an airborne contaminant present but where there is little to no threat to the skin and eyes, similar to the protection offered by Level B.

Level D: The fourth and final classification of PPE offers the minimum protection and is considered the last line of defence. There is no need for air respiration but can include coveralls, safety boots and chemical resistant goggles. This level of protection is good for environments where contaminants are a nuisance.

It could be argued that the onset of the pandemic has introduced a fifth category for those who have turned to masks, face shields and gloves for protection from the COVID virus in their day to day lives.

In many places, masking mandates have been lifted, but healthcare professionals are still advocating for their use as it is a simple solution to mitigate the spread of the virus and masks are in ample supply. This was not always the case.

A matter of supply

At the onset of the pandemic, PPE was in short supply, particularly in healthcare settings. This led to changes in how PPE was sourced, designed and fabricated. In Canada and the United States, stockpiles of N95 masks were being depleted at a rapid pace and there was no domestic supply. Both countries were reliant on imports that were being disrupted by global supply chain constraints and this brought to light the gaps in domestic supplies and the insecurities resulting from these shortages.

Out of this challenge, an opportunity arose; governments, with the support of local manufacturers, were able to shift their production to create new domestic supplies of things like masks, gowns and gloves to ensure the safety and protection of its own citizens. The Canadian Government issued a call to Canadian manufacturers and health technology companies to mobilize production of desperately needed medical equipment like ventilators, masks and PPE.

Many manufacturers quickly retooled their operations thanks to funds that were made available through the Strategic Innovation Fund to address shrinking supplies of life saving PPE and new partnerships were formed to get the job done.

General Motors, which temporarily halted automotive production during the early days of the pandemic, partnered with Ventec Life Systems to produce ventilators, while retailers Canada Goose shifted production from winter outerwear to produce surgical gowns. Further, distilleries were given the go ahead to produce hand sanitizer, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving the manufacturing shift.

These circumstances highlighted the importance of domestic supply chains, particularly for important items like PPE. When international supply chains fell short, unable to deliver the quantity of supplies required, manufacturing was re-shored and existing capacity was leveraged to meet demand.

A new, cooperative way to manufacture domestically

The pandemic highlighted and reinforced the importance of shared resources and global partnerships, as well as the interdependence nations have on each other in a global marketplace. It demonstrated that safety is a collective responsibility and one of the ways that was proven was through shared or open designs. Many manufacturers introduced open-source design solutions for things like masks, face shields and other forms of PPE to ensure that there was enough supply to keep people safe, both on and off the job.

This gave 3D manufacturing an opportunity to demonstrate its value – as a manufacturing process it was scalable and quick to adapt to the needs of the market without the profit motive being of paramount importance.

From 3D printed face shields fabricated by makers to hand-sewn masks made by crafters, as well as the collective efforts of manufacturers, people came together to ensure those who needed the protection were offered the necessary PPE; a local solution in the face of a global supply shortage.

This all meant not only a change in how PPE was designed and manufactured, but also how attitudes changed. PPE is no longer just found on worksites, it has become a common part of every outing and people’s everyday lives and further emphasizes the role it plays in protecting the safety and wellbeing of people on and off worksites around the world.

The post The Making of Protection<p class="company">The Evolution of PPE</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.