November 2, 2020 5 Safety Improvements Across all Major Industries

Investing in the latest safety improvements is critical. To help get started here are five significant ones across all major industries.

Providing a safe work environment is a critical component of modern industrial operations. The potential threats to life and limb are far too significant to put safety concerns on the sidelines. What’s more, many workplace health and safety standards are mandated by law.

Ultimately, the development and enforcement of safety measures fall on the owners and managers of an industrial operation. Since the failure to invest in the latest safety improvements can result in tragedy, it might be time to upgrade where applicable.

To help get started, here are five significant safety improvements across all major industries:

Virtual training

Employee training is a vital part of most industrial operations. Unfortunately, it’s also a dangerous time in which accidents are more likely to happen. While various measures reduce the chance of a training accident, the safest option involves virtual simulations. It’s no different than an aviator trained on a realistic flight simulator. In the event of a mistake, life and limb are not on the line. That’s good news for everyone.

Robotic inspections

The ability to perform routine and emergency inspections while minimizing or avoiding downtime  is  essential for industrial applications. However, the inspections and data gathering  itself can be dangerous. That’s why more companies are opting for remote visual inspection and sensor data gathering robots. For example, the Guardian S RVI robot manufactured by Sarcos is an inspection robot capable of navigating confined and hazardous spaces  while transmitting video, audio, and sensor data back to operators in real-time.

Smart stops

Many industrial accidents involve fast-moving machines operating with tremendous force. The ability to swiftly stop heavy machinery in time to prevent disaster has been a game-changing development in the world of workplace safety. On a smaller scale, one of the most notable examples is the SawStop; a table saw that prevents fingers from getting sliced off. To demonstrate this amazing technology, the inventor famously throws hot dogs at the saw in motion. Similar smart stops can and will be applied to more massive machinery in factories and other industrial settings worldwide.

Wearable tech

Whether it’s monitoring body temperature, heart rate, or movement patterns, wearable tech can provide an extra layer of safety for industrial workers. While there are certainly privacy concerns regarding an employer’s ability to access biometric information, it’s possible to implement third-party systems that prevent sensitive data from being accessed by unauthorized personnel. The ability to know if a worker is on the verge of heatstroke or incapacitated at the switch may prove too useful for safety purposes for privacy to be the priority.

Automation

The most remarkable safety improvement across all industries is undoubtedly automation. Having machines and computers do the dirty and dangerous work means less chance for real people to get seriously hurt. Coupled with the cost-effective nature of automation, improved safety is why so many manufacturers and other industrial operators invest so heavily in it. If a person is still being used to perform highly dangerous work, that’s because they haven’t found a way to automate the process successfully.

Safety is the name of the game for industries across the globe. Without the ability to provide a safe work environment, factories and other facilities struggle to remain productive and in operation. What’s more, ensuring worker safety is the right thing to do in any circumstance.

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