The Benefits of Applying Ergonomics

To help companies appreciate the potential business impact of ergonomics programs, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries compiled reports of ergonomic investments and successes. The following brief summaries show the potential for significant economic benefits as a result of implementing ergonomic interventions.

Success Stories

1. A military repair service invested $35,212 in equipment, including a vacuum life, anti-vibration gloves, keyboard trays, and anti-fatigue mats. Injuries due to strains decreased 23% in one year, saving the business $87,400. The benefit-to-cost ratio? 2.5-to-1.

2. A gravity feed roller system set at waist height reduced lifting and twisting at a packaging plant. The company experienced a five-fold decrease in days lost due to musculoskeletal injuries, sickness, and workers’ compensation costs. A 25% increase in productivity accompanied a 100% reduction in lost workdays.

3. Waist-high carts for carrying goods to wrapping machines in the packaging section of a manufacturing plant reduced walking and bending. As a result, productivity jumped 400%.

4. Adjustable assembly tables made it easier for workers at a window treatment fabricator to reach parts and raise and lower their worktables. The incidence of compensable claims went from twenty claims to two claims over five years.

5. A manufacturer paid $300,000 for an automatic palletizer to replace hand palletizing. The company experienced a return on investment of 23.6% per year over 10 years.

6. An automotive parts manufacturer purchased 20 tilt stands for parts baskets and 100 anti-fatigue mats. An investment of $22,986 yielded an 88% reduction in musculo-skeletal disorders in seven months.

7. A screen manufacturer spent $40,000 on semi-automated tables, which reduced awkward postures and high forces. As a result, quality improved, production increased, operator fatigue went down, and employee morale shot up. In 18 months, the incidence rate for musculoskeletal disorders went from 69 per 200,000 work hours to 0. The lost days rate went from 2342 per 200,000 work hours to 0.

8. A large electronics manufacturer spent $355,000 on an ergonomics program that included workstation redesign, training, and elimination of high-risk tasks. Productivity went up 37%. The return on investment was 1,675%. The company saved $100,000 per year in reduced labor costs and $2.1 million per year overall.

9. A large communications equipment manufacturer purchased scissor lifts, installed sit/stand adjustable workstations, and instituted job enlargement. In two years the number of ergonomics-related lost workdays went from 298 to 0. The company saved $1.48 million in workers’ compensation costs in five years.

10. An electronics assembly plant installed adjustable sit/stand workstations for $57,000 and realized savings of $490,000. Lost workdays decreased 57% over 12 years.

Comprehensive Ergonomics Program

Success with ergonomics entails more than just buying the right equipment. Employees must participate in the process, giving input and suggestions. They often know what is needed to make their jobs safer and easier. Employees must also receive training in how to use any new equipment. Without employee involvement, companies may not realize the full benefit of ergonomic investments.

97% of Worst Industry Violations Found at BP Refineries

“The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious, SYSTEMIC safety problem in their company,”

Two refineries owned by oil giant BP account for 97 percent of all flagrant violations found in the refining industry by government safety inspectors over the past three years, a Center for Public Integrity analysis shows. Most of BP’s citations were classified as “egregious willful” by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and reflect alleged violations of a rule designed to prevent catastrophic events at refineries.

Coast Guard Logs Reveal Early Spill Estimate of 8,000 Barrels a Day

BP is battling a massive oil well spill in the Gulf of Mexico after an April 20 platform blast that killed 11 workers. But the firm has been under intense OSHA scrutiny since its refinery in Texas City, Texas, exploded in March 2005, killing 15 workers. While continuing its probe in Texas City, OSHA launched a nationwide refinery inspection program in June 2007 in response to a series of fires, explosions and chemical releases throughout the industry.

Refinery inspection data obtained by the Center under the Freedom of Information Act for OSHA’s nationwide program and for the parallel Texas City inspection show that BP received a total of 862 citations between June 2007 and February 2010 for alleged violations at its refineries in Texas City and Toledo, Ohio.

Of those, 760 were classified as “egregious willful” and 69 were classified as “willful.” Thirty of the BP citations were deemed “serious” and three were unclassified. Virtually all of the citations were for alleged violations of OSHA’s process safety management standard, a sweeping rule governing everything from storage of flammable liquids to emergency shutdown systems. BP accounted for 829 of the 851 willful violations among all refiners cited by OSHA during the period analyzed by the Center.

Top OSHA officials told the Center in an interview that BP was cited for more egregious willful violations than other refiners because it failed to correct the types of problems that led to the 2005 Texas City accident even after OSHA pointed them out. In Toledo, problems were corrected in one part of the refinery but went unaddressed in another. Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, said it was clear that BP “didn’t go nearly far enough” to correct deficiencies after the 2005 blast.

“The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious, systemic safety problem in their company,” Barab said.

£9.5m bill for firms behind Britain's most costly industrial disaster.

Five companies have been ordered to pay £9.5 million for their part in the 2005 fire and explosion at the Buncefield Oil Storage Depot, in Hertfordshire.

The £1.3 million in fines for the pollution caused are a record in the UK.

Concluding a four-month trial at St Albans Crown Court, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith said the companies had shown "a slackness, inefficiency and a more or less complacent attitude to safety."

The prosecution of Total UK Ltd, British Pipeline Agency Ltd (BPA), Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL), TAV Engineering Ltd (TAV) and Motherwell Control Systems 2003 Ltd, followed the most complex investigation ever conducted by the Health and Safety Executive and Environment Agency.

The painstaking investigation uncovered a series of serious failings that led to thousands of gallons of petrol being released in a large vapour cloud.

The resulting explosion registered at 2.4 on the Richter scale, injured 43 people, and destroyed nearby businesses. The environmental impacts of the disaster are still evident today.

The cost of dealing with the disaster has been estimated at more than £1billion, making it the most costly industrial incident in the UK.

Kevin Myers, HSE's Deputy Chief Executive, said:

"Incidents like the explosion at Buncefield are exceptionally rare. However, society rightly demands the highest of standards from the high hazard industries. Businesses in this sector must manage the risks they create effectively because when things go wrong, the consequences are severe and can destroy lives and shatter local communities.

"Major hazard industries must learn the lessons of events like this. From the Board room down companies must ask themselves these questions: do we understand what could go wrong; do we know what our systems are to prevent this happening; and are we getting the right information to assure us they are working effectively."

Howard Davidson, Thames Director at the Environment Agency, said:

"As a result of a successful investigation and prosecution, five companies have today been held to account for their failures.

"The Buncefield blast shattered the local community and left a long-term legacy of pollution. It has already involved a five-year clean up operation by the oil companies involved and the Environment Agency will be a presence around the site for many years to come.

"There should be no doubt that we will always seek to prosecute those who cause serious pollution and damage the environment for future generations"

The following sentences were handed down:

• Oil giant Total UK Limited pleaded guilty to three offences and was fined £3.6 million (£3million for safety; £600,000 for pollution) and ordered to pay costs of £2.6 million
• Supply company British Pipeline Agency Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences and was fined £300,000 for environmental offences and ordered to pay costs of £480,000
• Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd was found guilty of two offences and fined £1.4 million (£1million for safety; £450,000 for pollution) with costs of £1 million
• TAV Engineering Ltd, which designed a crucial safety switch that failed, was found guilty of one offence, fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £500 costs
• Installation and maintenance company Motherwell Control Systems 2003 Ltd fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £500 after being found guilty of one offence

Programmable Logic Contoller

PLC known as a series of advance technology on systems modelling, analysis and control, prepared by control system principles. In control system, there are number of generic systems and methods which are encountered in all areas of industry of technology.

PLC is important because all production processes go through a fixed repetitive sequence of operations that involve logical steps and decisions. A PLC is used to control, time and regulate sequence. This controller is important for mechanical application in order to control any mechanical system be more systematically function.

PLC has four main units :-

1. The programme memory - the instructions for the logical control sequence are stored here.

2. The data memory - the status of switches, interlocks, past values of data and other working data is stored here.

3. The output devices - there are hardware/software drivers for the industrial process actuators, such as solenoid switches, motors and valves.

4. The input devices - these are hardware/software drivers for the industrial process sensors such as switch status sensors, proximity detectors, interlock settings and so on.

In order to completing my planning thesis to analysis an elevator system by using a PLC. The purpose use of this PLC controller is to control all the functional system of the elevator. The mechanical system in the lift will controlled by PLC.