Investing in industrial safety benefits workers, but it also helps companies to minimize costs related to non-compliance and productivity losses. In this article we review the benefits of having a good occupational risk prevention system and explain how you can boost it thanks to Mapex.
Industrial safety is the set of techniques and procedures aimed at minimizing and preventing occupational hazards in industrial environments. It is a discipline that guarantees the physical integrity and health of workers and also increases the productivity, efficiency and profitability of manufacturing companies.
The implementation of a good industrial health and safety system goes beyond providing individual protection equipment to technicians and operators. Companies also have the obligation to provide their employees with the necessary knowledge to perform their tasks, as well as to control and verify that workers follow all the rules and preventive measures that allow them to carry out their job in an effective and safe manner.
Benefits of occupational health and safety management
Transforming the manufacturing floor into a safe environment has a positive impact on the workers’ quality of life and the company’s bottom line. Here are some specific benefits:
- Higher levels of employee satisfaction and commitment to the organization.
- Reduction of staff turnover, absenteeism and, as a consequence, of resources allocated to the training of new professionals.
- Elimination of costs associated with penalties, compensation or stoppage of activity thanks to compliance with legislation.
- Improvement of the company’s reputation and the relationship with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders.
- OEE improvement: positive impact on quality, availability and performance during the production process.
- Promotion of a preventive culture within the company.
How does Mapex help you maintain safety and industrial hygiene in your company?
Thanks to Mapex’s MES system, industrial companies can, for example, set up inspection points; demonstrate that their employees are trained to perform their work and comply with Occupational Risk Prevention policy; and execute a good preventive maintenance plan.
Problem 1: Difficulty in ensuring compliance with standardized processes
First, companies can establish the 5S methodology with Mapex. Our software automatically displays the 5S checklist on screen, with the order and cleaning processes that the company has standardized. The operator, in turn, only has to verify compliance with these tasks in the system, being able to provide images as evidence and without having to use paper documents.
Putting the 5S into practice with Mapex is key to maintaining this Lean Manufacturing methodology over time and taking advantage of all its benefits:
- Cleaner and safer work environment.
- Higher efficiency and productivity.
- Improved emergency conditions.
- Greater availability of equipment and operators.
- Increased quality of production.
Secondly, Mapex also helps companies to manage Layered Process Audits. As with the 5S methodology, this is another tool for checking that all the elements involved in the production process comply with the defined production standard and the safety regulations in force.
Problem 2: Difficulty in ensuring that employees comply with occupational health and safety regulations
Making workers aware of the importance of respecting the Occupational Risk Prevention legislation is not always an easy task. On many occasions, industrial companies are unable to ensure 100% compliance of their staff with the regulations, with the risk that this entails for the health of employees and for the future of the entire company.
Organizations can put an end to this problem by setting up different inspection points in Mapex. Thanks to this system, before starting and/or finishing a work order, operators are obliged to confirm all those aspects that the company wants to control: if they know the safety protocols, if they have the appropriate personal protective equipment, if they have left the work area clean and tidy, etc.
Implementing this type of digitized checklists speeds up the operators’ work and increases their sense of security, since it allows them to visualize on screen all the stages of the process and avoid errors or oversights.
In addition, it is a way of working that favors transparency and documentation work in companies, especially when it comes to demonstrating compliance with Occupational Risk Prevention regulations in the event of possible inspections.
Problem 3: Difficulty in controlling that operators are trained to perform their work
Industrial safety is also closely related to the management of operator training. In fact, companies that are unable to ensure that only the most highly trained employees perform the most complex tasks face many occupational hazards.
With Mapex, companies can implement the ILUO matrix in their production plants. The MES system automatically manages level changes, ensures that the most critical tasks are supervised by qualified operators, and allows or denies a user access to a work center according to his level of training.
Problem 4: Difficulty in maintaining equipment in perfect condition
Finally, another cause of many workplace accidents in industrial environments is poor maintenance of equipment and its safety elements in the plant. That is why it is so important to ensure on a regular basis that they are working properly and that their use does not pose a danger to operators.
Mapex helps companies to promote and improve preventive maintenance plans for their equipment. This is not only key for organizations to minimize occupational risks, but also brings cost savings: increased availability, improved equipment lifetime, less corrective actions, etc.
Our MES software also allows companies to be able to detect machinery failures in real time thanks to its alert system. In this way, the maintenance team can act quickly on breakdowns that require very short reaction times.
If you want to enhance industrial health and safety in your factory and any of these features have caught your attention, contact our team. They will explain all the advantages of implementing Mapex in your production plant in order to prevent occupational hazards and comply with regulations.
