IGW puts safety first

Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our employees. Therefore, a safe work environment is always the number one priority in our daily work flow.

To make sure our work environment is safe, we integrated this topic in the Continuous Improvement Strategy of the IGW Belgium plant. To enhance our safe environment, we ask that our employees report dangerous situations and think proactively about alternatives and solutions to create the most safe environment possible.

Curious to see what the IGW Belgium plant has implemented so far? Below you can find a few examples that were implemented recently in the plant regarding safety.

1. Railing around machinery

Maybe one of the most obvious safety measures that was implemented in the plant, was a railing around one of the machines on the shop floor. Slipping towards the machine could cause some major wounds to the person in question. So as the saying goes; it’s better to prevent than to heal.

2. Slip-resistant stairs

Some of our bigger machines can only be operated a little above ground level. Therefore, these machines require steps or stairs to reach the control panel. Stairs are always a safety hazard for slipping, which could lead to injuries. To help prevent this, our stairs were equipped with slip-resistant steps.

3. Safety knives

One of our safety goals is to reduce the number of cutting wounds caused by knives to zero. To reach this goal, we replaced all standard knives with safety knives. These knives automatically retract when the knife loses contact with the cutting area.

4. Eliminating sharp edges

It’s not always the machinery or the environment that could lead to injuries. Sometimes, it’s the parts we manufacture that are a safety hazard. This was the case with a part after it had been subject to a finishing process that left a razor sharp edge that could easily lead to cutting wounds. To make sure this could never happen, we adjusted the finishing process and made sure the edges couldn’t harm any of our employees.

5. Custom made lifting device

All of our parts are big and heavy. To move these parts around, different tools are used. One of the tools that was used in the Belgium plant to manipulate our extension shafts, were lints. The chances of these lints being damaged and the shaft falling down, potentially hurting a team member, was too high. Therefore, a custom made lifting device for these parts was made. Thanks to this device, the big heavy extension shafts can be moved around and manipulated easily and safely.

As we focus on the continuous improvement of our plant in all its facets, we are curious to see how we will make our work environment even more safe in the future.