When it comes to industrial manufacturing, employee safety is just as important as productivity. In fact, injuries on the job have been a top concern since the height of the Industrial Revolution, when an average of one million workers were injured on the job each year at factories and manufacturing. While more stringent worker safety policies have since been put into place, engineers are constantly developing new technologies that put safety top-of-mind.
Overhead lifting systems
In a manufacturing environment, the choice of material handling equipment can have a significant impact on employee safety. The right equipment ensures workers don’t strain themselves or risk dropping those materials, causing both personal and material damage. Traditionally, most material handling equipment has consisted of on-floor movers such as trucks, forklifts and conveyor systems. These pose such risks as forklifts falling over due to unbalanced or heavy loads, poor visibility while driving forklifts and clothing or appendages getting caught in conveyor systems.
As an alternative to on-floor movers, engineers have developed overhead lifting systems, which improve safety and efficiency. These include cranes, hoists and monorails. Overhead lifting systems minimize the risk of overexertion, reduce injuries otherwise caused by falling materials and keep employees away from potentially dangerous machinery.
Wireless remote control systems
Industrial manufacturing facilities and individual machines are under constant pressure to improve efficiencies and as a result, workers must understand how updated equipment and processes impact safety. Over the past decade, one improvement has tackled both – wireless remote control systems. These systems offer increased mobility and reduced installation costs while ensuring operator and worker safety. For example, rather than operating a crane directly and risking injury or dropping heavy equipment, wireless remote control systems enable workers to operate cranes from up to 50 meters away without the inconvenience of cords.
Predictive maintenance
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) serves many benefits when it comes to the productivity and automation of industrial maintenance. Preventative and predictive industrial maintenance in particular can decrease costs and unplanned downtime. However, productivity isn’t the only benefit – preventative maintenance also improves worker safety. By decreasing the chances of manufacturing equipment going down on the job, employees are less likely to suffer from injuries associated with equipment malfunctions. The IIoT also automates certain tasks, such as those that pose the most risk to industrial manufacturing workers, further mitigating risks.
Manufacturing safety has come a long way since the Industrial Revolution, but there’s always room for improvement. The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics reports “day away from work” injuries in manufacturing increased 5 percent in 2014. As industrial manufacturing increasingly prioritizes safety as much as efficiency, engineers will develop more ways to protect workers on the job and decrease the number of injuries.