5 Effective Ways To Improve Worker Safety In A Manufacturing Plant

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Manufacturing is one of many companies' most fundamental functions; without it, products can’t be created. However, it’s also one of the most dangerous functions.

Accidents can happen, and things can go wrong. It is vital to take as many steps as possible to minimize these risks. However, figuring out how to improve worker safety in a manufacturing plant can be difficult.

That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. While you can and should do a wealth of things, some are much more important than others.

Implementing and maintaining them is crucial for the safety of your manufacturing plant. A few effective strategies are paramount for this.

How To Improve Worker Safety In A Manufacturing Plant: 5 Effective Strategies

Up-To-Date Information

You’ll need to ensure all employees have up-to-date information about procedures, policies, safety instructions, etc. The visual factor principle—which you can find out more about here—is recommended.

Doing so will ensure that employees know exactly what they need to do and wear and that they’re educated about all necessary areas.

Keeping these as visible as possible is vital. While you’ll need to find the best places to put this information, it’ll be time well spent. Once you do, you should see employees follow safety instructions and similar areas more effectively.

Ongoing Training

An untrained worker is an unsafe worker. You’ll need to ensure everyone in your manufacturing plant is as highly trained as possible.

While that means investing significantly in their training and development, it’ll keep your company as protected as possible. The investment should minimize the risks of injuries and workers’ compensation claims.

However, this shouldn’t be a one-and-done approach. You should have regular safety training sessions with your employees.

Ensuring that they have up-to-date skills to do their job is also a priority. Once you’ve done this, you should improve worker safety more than you’d think.

Layout & Design

When a plant is first designed and built, it’s done as safely as possible. It’s designed to ensure workers and equipment can move safely and efficiently.

If there are plant upgrades and expansions, however, that could change. If safety isn’t considered when planning out the layout and design, then you could create risks.

That could include blind spots, among other issues, which could threaten inattentive workers. When designing upgrades, you should aim to minimize these as much as possible.

Failing to keep this in mind could result in more future issues.

PPE

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential for manufacturing workers. They’ll need more of these than you may be aware of. Hard hats, gloves, and glasses are the tip of the iceberg.

Precisely what they need could depend on what the plant creates. You’ll need to ensure that your workers are fully protected against any hazards they come up against.

Regardless of how minor the hazard may seem, your workers need PPE accessories to protect against it. Though that’s an extra cost per employee, it’s something you’re obliged to provide.

Ergonomics

Musculoskeletal issues are some of the most common injuries in a manufacturing facility, and they account for a large percentage of workers’ compensation claims.

Also known as repetitive stress injuries, these are problems that workers develop from repetitive or awkward motions. These can be common in a manufacturing facility.

Educating employees about ergonomics is a recommended way of avoiding this. While this could be part of their training, it deserves significant attention.

The better educated workers are about such injuries, the better they can avoid them. That’ll not only protect them but also keep the company safe from any workers’ compensation claims.

How To Improve Worker Safety In A Manufacturing Plant: Conclusion

While improving worker safety in a manufacturing plant may seem complicated, it doesn’t have to be. Focusing on a few key areas is recommended.

When you do so, keep in mind that it’s an ongoing process. You’ll need to continually improve worker safety, and that doesn’t stop once you’ve ticked off a checklist.

Equipment can always need to be repaired or updated, and small areas can need to be addressed. It is vital to keep an eye out for these and address them as they arise.

Once you do so, you shouldn’t have a problem improving your worker safety.