ByRuth Kiefer, ARM
Loss Control Manager

I’d like to take a moment to explain the reason why my staff and I take safety very seriously when we survey your facilities. Our time doing this job has taught us one thing, that when things go wrong, they are quick and unforgiving. During our safety walkthroughs of your facilities, we try to encourage you to address certain hazards, we may sound like broken records at times, and there is a clear and fateful reason why we do. Injuries and deaths occur all the time in our industry. It is real. We see it first hand, we investigate it, we analyze the data, and we crunch the numbers. It may be just a story that you read, a highlight on the nightly news, but these are real people, that could have been your own employee. Or perhaps have been one of your employees.

You and your employees may see the hazard every day, a simple lathe perhaps. My staff and I explain to plant managers all the time that the lathe needs to have a chuck guard, not to wear loose clothing or gloves while working with rotating equipment, and having proper chuck keys…. there are reasons why we do this, for every day you operate that equipment, employees are exposed to the hazards on a daily basis and no longer see the danger.

Case in point, on April 21, 2014, a 29-year old employee was working on a metal shaft that was in a lathe, the employee’s shirt became entangled when he walked around the end of the lathe close to the shaft being worked on. EMS was called and the employee was transferred to the hospital, where he died 13 days later from the injuries sustained on April 21st. This year alone, Michigan MiOSHA has investigated 14 work related fatalities that were a result of unsafe acts or conditions.

So when we’re a bit tough with your plant managers about safety, remember, we see the injury results first hand, we see the devastation when the employee loses a finger or a hand, or even worse, the grieving family. This is why my staff and I take it so seriously, we want you to be both safe and productive.

So, if you have a question about guarding or are not sure if something should be guarded or not, please take the time to call us, we will be more than willing to come out and help you determine the best course of action to reduce the hazard. We are a valuable resource – use us proactively to reduce your risk exposures.

See you at the next safety walkthrough.