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Safety in the hands of the next generation

Does a publicized notice from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration about an amputation at a metal fabricating operation unnerve you?

I hope it would. I understand that a veteran fabricator might have seen his or her share of injuries on the job, but should that be accepted as business as usual? In today’s work world, I don’t think so.

In the July 2015 issue of The FABRICATOR, we will feature The Dupps Co., a producer of heavy-duty rendering equipment for the food processing industry. The Germantown, Ohio, manufacturing facility requires its employees to wear hard hats and steel-toed shoes because of the heavy plate incorporated into fabrication designs. Despite an environment that an outsider might consider dangerous—cranes moving very heavy fabrications, sparks flying from grinders, and fabricating equipment that can seriously injure lackadaisical workers—the company has managed to work 2 million hours without a lost-time accident occurring. That’s eight full years without such an incident.

Tom Weiss, the manufacturing manager for The Dupps Co., said that safety is at the forefront of almost every activity at the factory. Every team meeting begins with a discussion on safety news or concerns. At the beginning of each shift, workers have to read over a short check list at every station. If workers aren’t thinking about working safely at The Dupps Co., they are reminded very quickly.

Weiss added that maintaining a safe work environment has become a bit easier in recent years as new, younger workers have been integrated into the workforce. The everyday reminders and safety training given to new hires stress the importance of going about fabricating activities in the right manner, but these younger workers also come at the job with a slightly different attitude than the older workers who soon may be retiring.

“We’ve done a lot of hiring the last couple of years. The younger folks tend not to take the shortcuts,” he said. “Whereas the seasoned veterans—and we don’t have too many of those anymore—might think differently.

“They might think, ‘Well, I can pick that up,’” Weiss continued. “Well, you really can’t do that. You should do it the appropriate way.”

He said that younger workers won’t hesitate to ask how much something weighs and then proceed with the task. They like structure and guidance, which is a good thing if you have or are trying to build a safety-first work environment.

Maybe the next generation of manufacturing workers won’t tolerate accidents of any kind on the shop floor. If that’s the case, that may do more to advance the image of manufacturing in the eyes of young people than any television show or celebrity speaker could do. Death and amputations on the job make it hard to sell manufacturing as anything other than a potential accident waiting to happen.

About the Author
The Fabricator

Dan Davis

Editor-in-Chief

2135 Point Blvd.

Elgin, IL 60123

815-227-8281

Dan Davis is editor-in-chief of The Fabricator, the industry's most widely circulated metal fabricating magazine, and its sister publications, The Tube & Pipe Journal and The Welder. He has been with the publications since April 2002.