How to Improve Safety on a Meat Slicer
Slicing meat is a dangerous task.
A meat slicer is basically a series of large, extremely sharp blades that rotate quickly so it can cut through even the toughest of tissue.
How To Reduce Costs of Musculoskeletal Injuries with Ergonomics
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) are a major cause of injury in the food processing industry.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, MSD injury rates are higher in food manufacturing than the average of other manufacturing industries. In 2008 alone, the food manufacturing industry as a whole reported 12,170 cases of MDS injuries that resulted in days away from work.
5 Easy Ways to Prevent Hand Injuries
Hand injuries are the most common employee injury in the work place.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 358,890 cases of non-fatal injuries to the upper extremities were reported in 2015. Of those injuries, 143,900 involved the hands.
The US Department of Labor confirmed this claim, finding that of all injures reported, injuries to fingers and hands accounted for more than 23%, making them the highest in preventable injuries and in terms of lost work days, they ranked second only to back and neck injuries.
This is especially true in food processing facilities, where it’s not uncommon for employees to work with sharp knives, heavy carts, extremely hot or cold racks, and equipment that can easily crush, maim, or amputate hands.
3 Practical Solutions to Prevent Slips in Your Workplace
Slips in the food processing industry are a serious issue — one that leaves a large number of employees injured and costs the company thousands of dollars in claims and work time lost.
In Washington state alone, there are approximately 340 workers’ compensation claims each year for slip and trip injuries in the food processing industry. On average, each claim costs $4,600 while the average work-time lost for each of these injuries is 35 days.1
That’s a lot of lost work time and money spent on an easily preventable injury.
18 Easy Principles for Preventing Musculoskeletal Disorders
According to the California Department of Labor Statistics and Research, the food processing industry has one of the highest lost-workday incidence (LWDI) rates. In 2000, it was almost double than the LWDI rate for all industries as a whole.1
Bruises, cuts, burns, fractures, and amputations are among the top causes of such a high lost-workday incidence rate — due in part to the equipment used in food processing plants.
While those injuries are severe and drive up the LWDI rate, there is a much more common set of injuries that account for the majority of the high LWDI rate: musculoskeletal disorders.
3 Important Reasons to Focus on Employee Safety
June is National Safety Month — a month set aside to focus on reducing leading causes of injury and death at work, on the road and in our homes and communities, with the ultimate goal that No One Gets Hurt.
What better time to focus on improving safety in your food processing plant?
Employee safety is an important part of any food processing facility — one that should never be “set it and forget it.” Taking time to review employee safety training, procedures, and response time should happen on an annual basis to help reduce the risk of employee injuries.
Why focus on employee safety this month? Here are three great reasons.
8 Safety Signs You Need to Improve Worker Safety with Commercial Ovens
Commercial ovens, as with any food processing equipment, can pose serious safety hazards for employees.
Burns, pinch points, crush points, cuts, chemical burns, carbon dioxide suffocation, or being trapped in an oven while in the cook cycle are all possible if proper care is not taken when operating a commercial smokehouse, dehydrator, or steam oven — leading to serious injury or death.
As a food processing company, it is imperative that proper safety signs be posted on and around any commercial oven to notify employees of potential dangers associated with this piece of equipment.
The Easy to Understand Ergonomic Stands Buyer’s Guide
Outfitting your food or beverage processing plant with high quality ergonomic stands can prove to be a challenge.
Do a quick Google search for ergonomic stands, and you’ll find a number of options, styles, and configurations to choose from. How do you know what ergonomic stands to purchase? How do you choose which ergonomic stand style will work best for your operation?
Choosing the right ergonomic stands can be difficult, but here at Fusion Tech, we’ve tried to make it easy for you. Our ergonomic stands buyer’s guide below will help you choose the right stand for your food or beverage processing operation.
6 Tips for Safely Operating an Auger Conveyor
Auger conveyors are a key component in most processing operations. These pieces of equipment are able to convey bulk materials — everything from large chunks of product down to sub-micron powders — efficiently and effectively, while offering versatility in set up and operating layout. The uses are practically endless across the food processing industry, making them indispensable to an efficient processing operation.
However, auger conveyors, like any food processing equipment, can pose a safety hazard to your employees if not used properly.
4 Safety Reasons to Invest in an Ergo Trim Station
According to the California Department of Labor Statistics and Research, workers in food-processing plants have a higher likelihood of being hurt on the job than workers in many other industries.1 Reaching across a conveyor, lifting heavy loads, twisting and bending at a work station, performing repetitive tasks, and working in awkward positions – all tasks commonly found in processing plants – are leading risk factors for injury.
It’s why ergonomics — the study of how to improve the fit between the tasks of the job and the employees who perform the work — play a significant role in promoting safe workplaces and reducing the high cost of employee absenteeism and injury.
Recent Posts
Fusion Tech Makes A Donation To Hetta GilbertSeptember 11, 2024 - 10:28 am
Reverse Engineering Product in the Marketplace: Part OneAugust 9, 2024 - 4:46 pm
2023 End of Year Donation VoteDecember 12, 2023 - 1:20 pm
How to Perform Thermal Mapping and Balancing of Your Industrial OvenSeptember 25, 2023 - 8:00 am