Sean Walker, EHS Coordinator for Oerlikon in Troy, Michigan, was on a mission to reduce lacerations. Corporate EHS for the global company, responding to both minor and extreme laceration injuries, challenged local plant safety managers to find safer alternatives and reduce accidental cuts. At the time, stainless steel razors were a common cutting tool.
Walker decided to examine the problem of hand safety holistically and launched a hand safety campaign. He looked at, “hand safety, utility knife safety, let’s revisit our PPE, let’s train these guys in the proper use of cutting tools… there was a lot of things that went into it.”
I haven’t had any lacerations since we went to this tool.
As part of this campaign, Walker ordered the Slice® Mini Cutter to field test in packaging and shipping departments, where box tape, cellophane, and plastics are common. When asked how employees responded, Walker says, “they like them cause they can put them in their pocket, they like them cause they’re magnetic, and they like them cause they retract and yet… they have enough [cutting] control.”
And the best result? “I haven’t had any lacerations since we went to this tool,” says Walker. There haven’t been any lacerations at Walker’s plant since they introduced the hand safety campaign, which includes higher level cut-resistant gloves and Slice’s Mini Cutter with our finger-friendly® safety blade.
Eliminated
lacerations with Slice Mini Cutters and PPE
Implemented
A comprehensive hand-safety campaign
Increased
Employee uptake with safety training and the right (Slice) tool
CAST
Slice Safety Knives that help Oerlikon improve safety and reduce costs
About Oerlikon Surface Solutions
Oerlikon’s Surface Solutions segment—its second-largest segment—is the result of the 2014 amalgamation of Metco and Oerlikon’s Balzers. The division leads the way globally in technological solutions for surfaces such as: thin-film and thick-layer coatings, machining services, and surface treatments. Oerlikon creates their unique products at over 145 sites in 36 countries worldwide.
