When people look at workplace safety, they tend to look at standard operations and plan accordingly; but sometimes it’s when unusual things happen that there’s the highest risk of an accident. This is particularly true with regard to the kinds of high-pressure, powerful machines and equipment used in any physical trades, in manufacturing and in different types of industrial situations. Employers should really brainstorm and look beyond “business as usual” to figure out how to protect frontline workers, both in order to take care of their employees and to prevent significant liability.
Maintenance and Equipment Service
It’s no surprise to a lot of people who work in physical industries that many workers are harmed each year when they attempt to maintain or service active industrial equipment. Employers should build a thorough checklist and go over this with all maintenance and service staff and even other people in related roles to make sure that certain things happen before service or maintenance begins. Machines should be fully powered off and disconnected from power sources as needed. Safety guards or rails should be in place and other precautions may apply.
Moving Machines Around
Sometimes, machines or equipment have to be relocated on the shop floor, especially if workers are dealing with a limited space. A staff change or other event may trigger some of these situations. When relocating pieces of equipment, it’s important to figure out whether they will present hazards in their new positions, including safety for electrical cables and other connections and adequate space for operation.
Newly-Calibrated Machinery
When various parts of the machine architecture need to be renovated or changed in order to support new design or production processes, it’s important to communicate that to workers. Changes in calibration or production, combined with changes in staffing, can be disastrous if the new people don’t understand how to use the machines in a new way.
The Machine-to-Machine Age
In today’s high-tech business world, many companies are utilizing things like machine-to-machine or M2M technologies where individual pieces of equipment ‘talk’ to each other over the Internet using embedded sensors and wireless connection devices. But these also raise other safety questions where human decision-makers need to able to do overrides for processes, closely observe M2M communications, or otherwise intervene to ensure 100 percent safety.
Taking Care of Injury Victims
Professional injury attorneys arrive on the scene after an accident has already happened. They evaluate what types of hazards contributed to the injury and whether or not a third party has responsibility for any negligence or inattention to work safety protocols.
New York City Wrongful Death Attorneys: We Handle Wrongful Death and Injury Scenarios
Physical trades or industrial workers in New York who have been hurt on the job can talk to the caring and attentive lawyers at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff. Our experienced personal injury attorneys know how to guide clients through the entire process of filing and pursuing a personal injury claim in New York City courts. Let us help your voice be heard after a workplace accident.
