Saw Systems Newsletter - Issue 20: 2021

Courtesy of Saw Systems
Service Tech, Jeremy Keba

To add to the list of challenges we have all faced over the past year as a result of COVID-19, worker shortages have created a need to rethink and emphasize the importance of safety in the workplace. With many companies seeking to fill positions, train new employees, and keep up with supply and demand, employees are likely to feel added pressure to get a product and/or service “out the door”. We want to stay ahead of the curve and help prevent careless mistakes from being made, so we saw an opportunity to reiterate the importance of safety in the workplace.

Reviewing and enforcing safety practices has always been of upmost importance. However, with the increased demand to train new employees, and the new “norm” being anything but….it seems there is a contrasting necessity to reinforce the importance that we place on implementing safety policies/procedures. Especially when working with automated equipment.

Missing guards on equipment, poorly labeled controls/functions, inexperience or inattentiveness, as well as insufficient training and failure to communicate are just a few examples that can lead to accidents and even injury. Safety inspections should happen on a regular basis, and operators must report any damaged or inoperable safety features to the appropriate personnel.

Use the following list as a “quick-start” guide to review before you start working on a piece of equipment. This is just one of the many ways that we can try to prevent accidents from happening in the workplace.

•      • Blade guards
•      • Doors and door interlocks
•      • Safety perimeters and gates
•      • E-stop controls-operable
•      • Clear legible control functions
•      • Ensure proper lighting
•      • Housekeeping around the machine, no oil, no tripping hazards
•      • Replace any electrical cords or components that are cut or damaged
•      • Proper PPE for associates (i.e. safety glasses, proper gloves, no loose hanging clothing, etc.)
•      • Proper “no touch tools” for operators
•      • Regulated compressed air pressure for air nozzles
•      • Proper training for associates on specific equipment
•      • Clear and concise process to react to safety hazards on the job

The Enemy

I am more powerful than the combined armies of the world. I have destroyed more people than all the wars of all the nations. I massacre thousands of people every year. I am more deadly than bullets. I steal over $500 million each tear. I spare no one, and I find victims among the rich and poor alike, the young, the old, the strong and weak. Widows know me to their everlasting sorrow. I loom up in such proportions that I cast my shadow over every field of labor.

I lurk in unseen places and do most of my work silently. You are warned against me, yet you heed me not. I am relentless, merciless, and cruel. I am everywhere – in the home, on the streets, in the factory, at railroad crossings, on land, in the air, and on the sea.

I bring sickness, degradation, and death, yet few seek me out to destroy me. I crush, I harm, I will give you nothing, and I may rob you of everything you have.

"I am your worst enemy - I am carelessness."