It’s no secret that automation’s inroads into the manufacturing sector continue to see growth. These spikes in automation’s presence provide ample opportunity for increased productivity—but also pose a new set of risks in the workplace. System automation compels your industries’ safety concerns to come to the forefront.
Evaluate Your Risks
As you may know, a certain measure of risks accompany any new process or procedure in the workplace. Fortunately, on the whole, system automation now furnishes risk assessment precautions from the get-go. But that doesn’t mean risks completely disappear altogether. While producers bake redundancy in to help ensure equipment safety, you can still have operator error.
Along that same vein, overt negligence undermines safety entirely; this could include a lax attitude toward proper safety regulations, which is not OK by any means. Process builders go to great lengths to ensure safety remains paramount.
Often producers install “safe speed” protocols into potentially dangerous processes that seek to maximize productivity, while still keeping safety measures intact. So-called “safe speed” protocols decrease the machine’s speed to a level that hazardous situations can be avoided. However, negligence, whether gross or unintentional, could ultimately lead to disaster.
Look at Overall Process
Industries don’t exist in a monolith and processes don’t share the same features across the board. Some industries opt for further equipment combination, through robots and other state-of-the-art features. This opens up room for risk. Coupling system automation with other outsourced additions can spell trouble when it comes to syncing up processes, which could bring about unintended risk. It means a good integrator is a must.
Taking a step back, an understanding of the manual process behind what’s being automated underpins a successful transition. This extends to the process once automation occurs. Mapping out routes from the onset, along with knowing workflows and practices, can help alleviate risk and avoid harm.
Practice What You Preach
Proper training remains integral to safe system automation. In fact, training underlies most successful automation endeavors. But that’s been a principal shortfall among the producer sector.
Historically, major impediments to automation happened due to a complete overhaul attitude to system integration. That—along with workplace complacency concerning safe practices—leads to working conditions that are not up to snuff in terms of safety.
Nowadays, a piecemeal approach has usurped the all-or-nothing mentality, proving beneficial for both business’ bottom line and workforce satisfaction. Workplace safety concerns need continued endorsement in all this. In sum, steadfast evaluation, whether through initial assessments or regular audits, bookend completely safe system automation.
Our Priority is Safety
Safety in system automation comes standard at Revere. Reach out to us for automated systems solutions that keep your workforce safe, processes streamlined, and revenue soaring. Plus, find more helpful automation information on our blog!