Safety Ideas From Our Teams To Yours
The following safety focused ideas have been implemented within our organization. We make you aware of them in case you may be able to apply them in your organization to make it an even safer place to work.
Loading Zone Markers
The loading zone of the Supply Distribution Center at MinePro in Antofagasta, Chile, from which they send supply parts to all of their northern operations, was improved with this new system to avoid incidents, making the supply operations much safer then previously.
Handle Turning Device
In the past P&H MinePro Services Western Region (WR) has been challenged with the task of turning dipper handles within its fabrication shop, a task that even the great Hercules would find difficult.
Previously when performing a handle turn, employees were required to lift and wrap 1 inch chains around both ends of a handle and lift an average of 50-60 kg at any one time. This consequently results in enormous strain to the body, specifically the muscle groups of the lower back and shoulders.
Through innovative ideas and design, the fabrication team came up with the idea of developing a pair of 30 tonne turning jigs, eliminating up to 98% of all manual handling activities throughout all stages of the turning process, including preparation.
The jigs innovative design has also provided a number of alternative benefits including:
- Reduced re-work, due to the jigs eliminating unnecessary damage throughout the turning process.
- Lowering of injury rates, through a reduction of manual handling activities.
- Increased productivity, with reduced preparation and re-work time.
- Enhanced safety culture, by maintaining a proactive approach to safety and company commitment.
Visible Safety Promotion
Our MinePro team in Chile is always coming up with new ideas to keep safety at the forefront. Now their coffee and snack machines wake employees up to think “Safety First” with every cup, as Hank, their safety mascot, shares safety reminders.
Cameras Mounted to 35K Yale Lift Truck
Typically large fork truck operator cannot see a person standing 10 feet behind the unit. There are also two more blind spots looking forward of the vehicle. The very large hydraulic lifting cylinders right in front of the driver create two blind spots. At a 45 degree angle to the left and to the right of the driver’s line of sight, the driver can see nothing at all for a distance of 30 feet. Anyone standing off to the side at a 45 degree angle would be invisible to the driver at that distance.
P&H installed cameras fore and aft of the driver’s compartment and equipped the cab with an LCD screen. Purchase of the two cameras and the LCD screen came to under $500.
Details of the installation...
We had our on-site Yale technician install the units. One camera was mounted just inside the opening for the radiator assembly at the rear of the fork truck so it would not get hit or damaged in any way. The second camera was mounted on top of the lifting frame at the front of the fork truck. The LCD screen was mounted to the dash just to the right of the steering wheel where the operator can easily locate the screen. Each camera was linked to the forward/reverse shifter of the truck so when the driver puts the truck in reverse, the rear camera’s view would appear on the screen. When the gearshift was returned to forward, the forward camera view appears on the screen. Now the driver has a complete 360-degree view of the entire area around his truck. Needless to say, the driver is delighted with the results. Since this was a very inexpensive solution to the visibility problem, P&H is moving forward to install additional cameras and LCD units on our other pieces of equipment that have line of sight problems.
Got Gloves? Campaign
A spike in laceration injuries at the Milwaukee factory prompted the department’s safety committee to evaluate the use and types of gloves worn. They involved local safety equipment suppliers and glove manufacturers to test the cut resistance of commonly worn leather gloves. It was determined that the common leather glove lost its cut resistance quickly when wet or worn. A new cut resistant replacement glove was identified and instruction on how and when to use them were distributed to all machinists. In promoting glove use, the team also developed their own “got gloves!’ campaign with stickers and signs to serve as constant reminders to wear gloves whenever possible. Samples of the new gloves were distributed to all MinePro locations and they are now in use globally.