Machinery safety and uptime are two critical considerations for businesses whose work involves managing machinery and the safety systems they entail.
There are many things to consider, such as ensuring machinery is compliant with Acts, regulations, standards and codes of practice, keeping workers safe, meeting project deadlines, and ensuring machines are up to the job.
All of these tasks are complex and time consuming, but thanks to technology, they are becoming much simpler. It’s now so much easier to maintain machinery and worker safety on site thanks to technological advancements that, as a result, companies are increasing their efficiencies, productivity, and uptime. So, we explore just how machinery safety technology can boost machinery uptime.
It’s amazing how much technology can improve safety. Consider digitisation, for example, which has made it much easier to complete machinery risk assessments and pre-starts. If you think about paper-based machinery risk assessments and pre-starts, they are time consuming, and your machinery operators could be at risk while the paper-based results are being analysed by a human. However, this issue can be eliminated through technology.
Digital risk assessments and pre-starts immediately identify the hazards and issues related to a machine, and instantly tell you to stand it down or fix it if needed. Here at Plant Assessor, for example, we use a unique technology called the Machinery Compliance Engine (MCE) to complete risk assessments accurately and quickly. The MCE is a sophisticated piece of technology developed to automate the identification of machinery hazards, set risk ratings, and provide applicable control measures per referenced legislation.
All you need to do is pick a machine, answer some simple questions, and let the MCE complete your comprehensive risk assessment. This type of technology simplifies the risk assessment process, removes decision making subjectivity around the level of risk a hazard poses and controls that need to be implemented, reduces inconsistencies, better mitigates risk and reduces the risk of workers being injured while on the job, once controls are actioned.
Documentation is also easier to access and share with others thanks to technology, making safety management easier. Documents such as safe operating procedures (SOPs), for example, can be easily accessed through digital libraries. A worker can grab their device and easily view these critical safety documents with the click of a button before undertaking a high risk task.
Also, documentation, such as machinery risk assessments and pre-starts results, can be shared instantaneously thanks to technology. You can immediately inform your workers about equipment that is unfit for use, allowing for machines to be immediately stood down, and reducing the risk of injury to workers.
Technology has also made plenty of tasks easier for us, by completing the difficult and time consuming ones, and leaving more time for the important things, like getting the job done. Quicker identification of issues using technology can better prevent potential issues or failures before they occur.
Speeding up the process of identifying issues means you and your machinery spend more time on the job. Additionally, when an issue is identified quickly, maintenance and servicing can be undertaken immediately, reducing the potential for the machine’s fault to worsen, and the machine being stood down. When this happens, projects may not be completed on time, which could negatively impact the profitability of a company.
Technology can also take the mental workload out of remembering when your machines require servicing. Digital platforms allow us to take an almost hands-off approach when it comes to service and maintenance scheduling by remembering when the last service took place, and scheduling the next one based on a selected timeframe, or the machine’s data, giving you more time to focus on the job instead.
Digital service and maintenance scheduling can also improve safety by preventing you from forgetting to service your machines, reducing the likelihood of critical issues arising, accidents occurring, and reducing the risk of workers becoming injured, or killed while at work.
Thankfully, there is a simple, digital solution to improve your machinery safety and uptime. Plant Assessor gives you the tools to monitor machinery health, improving uptime and keeping people safe. This technology uses all relevant legislative and regulatory information to help identify hazards, rate risks and determine controls to be implemented.
Plant Assessor’s digital document library, and digital service and maintenance scheduling help you review and maintain your machinery and control hazards on an ongoing basis.
Contact our friendly team for more information about how Plant Assessor’s technology can improve your machinery safety and uptime. Call 1300 728 852 or email info@assessor.com.au.
Disclaimer: This information is intended to provide general information on the subject matter. This is not intended as legal or expert advice for your specific situation. You should seek professional advice before acting or relying on the content of this information.