National Safety Month 2024: Ensuring Worker Safety Through Proactive Facility Maintenance
Bryan Christiansen, Founder and CEO, Limble CMMS
Posted 6/20/2024
National Safety Month 2024
June 2024 marks National Safety Month, an annual occasion to highlight the critical importance of workplace safety and raise awareness about potential hazards. For industries that rely on industrial equipment and heavy machinery, proper maintenance practices and safety protocols are vital for preventing accidents, injuries, and fatalities. Continuously striving to improve workplace safety is not only the ethical thing to do, but also keeps facilities productive, reduces downtime, and protects businesses from legal action.
Despite the clear advantages, many organizations still neglect to leverage essential tools and technologies for improving facility safety. Implementing modern technologies can play a vital role in proactive facility maintenance, allowing businesses to improve performance while preemptively addressing safety risks to stop potential accidents before they occur.
Proactive Maintenance is Key to Increased Workplace Safety
Workplace accidents and incidents don’t typically occur out of nowhere. More often, they stem from a lack of proactive facility maintenance procedures. When maintenance teams fail to take the appropriate precautions, they may leave potential hazards undetected, potentially putting other employees at risk.
Industries like manufacturing expose their workforce to countless risks during an average day. Poorly maintained machinery can cause workers to be crushed or trapped by moving parts; faulty electrical systems can lead to shocks or fires; leaks and exposure to hazardous materials can result in long-term health consequences; and poorly maintained walkways and infrastructure can lead to falls and injuries. The appropriate precautionary measures can uncover factors that contribute to each of these types of accidents and ensure facilities aren’t just prepared to pass audits but are capable of consistently operating without incident.
Simply put, proper facility maintenance has the potential to save lives and keep organizations in business.
Overcoming Common Maintenance Challenges
In high-risk industries, promoting workplace safety can pose an often overwhelming challenge without the right tools in place. Maintaining advanced machinery and interconnected systems requires specialized knowledge and expertise. Different assets have varying maintenance needs, schedules, and procedures. On top of that, many industries impose strict safety regulations and compel organizations to keep detailed records and for compliance purposes.
Implementing a proactive maintenance plan supported by technology like a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is essential for streamlining routine maintenance and ensuring teams adhere to plans, schedules, and safety protocols.
Leveraging CMMS to Improve Workplace Safety
CMMS platforms play a pivotal role in improving workplace safety by automating and streamlining various components of the facilities management process. By leveraging CMMS software, businesses can automatically schedule and assign maintenance tasks, ensure timely and thorough inspections, and trace performance or safety issues to their root cause.
CMMS solutions maintain detailed digital records of all asset history, including maintenance activities, inspections, and safety checks, for compliance purposes and incident investigations. They can monitor certification expiration dates or inspection deadlines and provide alerts for upcoming compliance requirements. A CMMS platform can also integrate safety checklists and procedures directly into maintenance workflows, to ensure that employees are continuously following safety practices and that organizations enjoy the various benefits of a safety culture. They also support incident reporting and fault analysis, enabling the documentation and investigation of safety incidents as well as the execution of strategic corrective action. The right CMMS platform will enhance the performance of an organization’s maintenance program and, ultimately, improve safety.
National Safety Month 2024 is a great opportunity for organizations to evaluate their current safety procedures and raise awareness about the potential risks within their facilities. However, worker safety must be a priority throughout the year, not just throughout June. By prioritizing proactive maintenance strategies and implementing modern technologies like CMMS software, businesses can foster a culture of continuous safety improvement and mitigate potential hazards before they evolve into serious incidents. Prioritizing worker safety through proactive facility maintenance is imperative, serving the double bottom line of profit and social responsibility.
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