Posted to News on 8th Dec 2016, 16:53
Rockwell Automation recognises safety excellence
Rockwell Automation named three organisations as recipients of its fourth annual Manufacturing Safety Excellence Awards. The recipients are Dana Incorporated, a global supplier of powertrain technology; MESNAC, an equipment builder in China; and OCME, a global equipment builder in Italy.
Mark Eitzman, safety market development manager, Rockwell Automation, says: "This awards programme celebrates the world's safest manufacturing companies for their leadership in making workplace safety a core business value. We're seeing safety maturity increasing around the world, as indicated by the regionally diverse group of winners this year."
The Manufacturing Safety Excellence Awards honour companies that have a holistic safety programme based on three key pillars: a strong safety culture, well-executed compliance procedures, and effective use of contemporary safeguarding and automation technology through capital investments.
Following are the details about this year's award winners.
Dana Incorporated received a plant-level award for the outstanding safety programme at the company's facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The plant, which manufactures automotive gearing and axle components, places worker safety above all other site functions. Mark Howard, plant manager, Dana Incorporated, says: "The health and safety of our employees is of the highest priority and importance. Throughout our facility, safety consciousness is a core attribute of our culture. It is shared by employees at every level, and it is an integral part in all of our processes and procedures."
The Fort Wayne plant has dedicated significant resources to continuously improving its safety processes. Jeff LaBelle, health and safety manager, Dana Incorporated, says: "This has yielded very positive results. Because safety is such a visible part of our everyday operations, employees feel empowered to identify and report potential hazards at first notice. Management reviews all suggestions and, as a result, employees readily share safety ideas. The bonus is that, while mitigating risks, suggestions also serve to improve productivity, quality and efficiency."
The plant's safety programme also includes a stringent process to assure compliance with required safety. Its "Design in Safety' risk-assessment process requires that equipment suppliers validate that machine safety systems will function as designed before installation. When new machinery is delivered, the engineering and safety groups collaborate to help meet all requirements.
MESNAC, a supplier of rubber and tire machinery, received an enterprise-level award for its companywide focus on safety. Mingjin Yu, vice president, MESNAC says: "Focusing on safety has enabled us to expand into new markets around the world. We build machines using the most stringent global safety standards while also continuously improving our own safety culture."
MESNAC holds all employees accountable for safety, and it is the first topic covered during daily operations meetings. The environmental health and safety (EHS) team works closely with site management and company leadership to carry out the safety programme.
The company designs productivity-enhancing safety features into its machinery. For example, zone control allows users to conduct maintenance on one zone while keeping the rest of a line running. Yu says: "We help our customers realise that safety doesn't have to come at the expense of productivity."
OCME, global supplier of packaging, filling and handling systems, as well as complete lines, received an enterprise-level award for its companywide focus on safety. Safety is a key differentiator for OCME. Antonino Eneide, project and portfolio director, OCME, says: "We follow rigorous safety standards when designing our machinery. However, we go beyond compliance to deliver systems that help improve safety and plant productivity for our customers."
OCME collaborates with its customers' engineering and EHS groups to help make sure machinery achieves both of their goals. Eneide says: "This is especially helpful for large multinational customers who are responsible for compliance across multiple plants. We deliver systems with advanced safety features and documented risk assessments so it's a win-win for both teams."
The 2016 Manufacturing Safety Excellence Award recipients join a distinguished list of past winners, including Bevcorp, The Clorox Company, Corning Environmental Technologies, General Motors, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Paper Converting Machine Company, PepsiCo divisions of Walkers Crisps and Pepsi Flavors, and Procter & Gamble. Follow the link for more information about the Rockwell Manufacturing Safety Excellence Awards.
