ADVERTORIAL MANUFACTURING AN EDGE IN SAFETY DURING THE NEW NORMAL
Dan Joyce, general manager EMEA, SafetyCulture, explains how manufacturing companies can nail safety in the face of a pandemic.
W
hile health and safety has always been intrinsic to the manufacturing industry and rigorous safety measures are the norm, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented the industry with a completely new set of challenges. As the world gets back to business, the key challenge for manufacturers lies in normalising safety procedures, ramping up operations as manufacturing in the UK returns to normal levels, and minimising the risk of COVID-19 to be contracted and spread on-site — resulting in paused projects and lagging supply chains. The businesses who will come out on top are those who implement an early warning system — a set of procedures to guide the organisation as restrictions loosen but to also enable leaders to react quickly if another outbreak occurs. These early warning processes will help employers build long term immunity to risk and disruption. Previously the responsibility of operational teams, it should now be top of the agenda for all business leaders and involve all employees. Leaders need to equip each member of staff with the knowledge and tools to manage safety themselves resulting in a safer environment for everyone. This new way of working requires both careful planning and stringent ongoing management. Here’s how manufacturers can take action to inspire confidence in employees and suppliers: 1. LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO MITIGATE RISK The manufacturing industry is used to dealing with difficult times and adapting to change, yet the problems presented by COVID-19 have set apart the businesses that had digitised before lockdown and those who had not, giving the former the edge. Traditional inspection processes – with weekly
or monthly checks – are no longer enough. Health risks need to be identified and resolved quickly to protect employees and customers and, to do this, checks need to be happening daily, if not multiple times a day.
SafetyCulture’s workplace safety app – iAuditor – makes carrying out risk assessments and managing issues easy and efficient – with simple checklists that any team member can use with no other equipment needed other than a mobile device. Through iAuditor, we’ve seen that companies that have already digitised their safety processes before going into lockdown have been able to manage the impacts of the pandemic much more efficiently than those who have been forced to turn to technology at the last minute. For instance, due to using iAuditor, leading manufacturing company Berry Global were able to continue providing essential products by doing daily checklist inspections to ensure social distancing and hygiene checks were adhered to.
Equally, those companies that were still relying on traditional methods have swiftly seen the benefits of digitising their processes. Since the start of the pandemic we’ve helped companies including ABB Cabling, ABB Robotics, DS Smith, ArcelorMittal and Magna to ensure they can continue their operations, while keeping their employees safe.
2. EMPOWER STAFF TO TAKE A ROLE IN WORKPLACE SAFETY
It’s important for businesses to give employees the confidence, authority and means to take an active role in safety. One way of doing this is by investing in the right tools that enable employees to be the eyes and ears of the organisation.
42 JULY/AUGUST 2020 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
Companies should look to equip their workforce with simple, user-friendly and intuitive devices that allow them to identify breaches in safety and educate them on the correct response, whether that is fixing the problem or escalating it to senior staff – leading to swift resolution of the issue. Again, technology plays a key role here. For example, using iAuditor, teams are able to record and manage incidents in real-time, assigning team members to resolve the issues as needed. SafetyCulture’s new ‘Incidents’ product allows team members to capture anything which raises concern in the mind of the worker. Teams are empowered to be proactive in identifying and resolving risk and becoming active players in protecting people and property. 3. USE CHECKLISTS FOR TRANSPARENCY To support the UK’s manufacturing industry, SafetyCulture has digitised hundreds of the world’s top COVID-19 reopening guidelines into simple mobile checklists in an inspection app that any team member can use in minutes. On 23 March, the week prior to the UK government mandating gatherings of less than 10 people, we saw a 186 per cent increase in COVID- 19 inspections using our iAuditor app. Since then, we have seen businesses conduct more and more inspections, growing a further 11 per cent week on week. As the government guidelines evolve as COVID-19 progresses, technology can play an important role in making sure companies continue to manage health and safety successfully.
Safety Cuture
safetyculture.com T: +44 161 518 0430
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