Safety: an economic investment
September 1st 2009

Industry is moving on from the stage where safety is seen as a bolt-on legal requirementand realising that investing in safety is not only the right thing to do – it is also good for business, says Derek Jones

In the manufacturing industry many companies have had to cut costs in order to remain profitable. The ramifications of this policy are felt at all levels of manufacturing. Unfortunately it is also true in areas one would least expect – such as plant floor safety.

This approach is undoubtedly shortsighted as the cost of an accident, in terms of potential legal action and lost production, will greatly outweigh the costs resulting from installing and using safety equipment. Costs can even be incurred when accidents do not occur. A visit from a safety inspector can quickly result in a prohibition order on any machine considered to be unsafe - such interruptions could have serious economic consequences for the company concerned.

However, it is encouraging to note a recent trend towards a more enlightened way of thinking. Many of the largest and most successful manufacturing companies are not only avoiding the pitfalls described above, they are positively enhancing their productivity and profitability by harnessing good analytical thinking and new safety technology and looking for these solutions to provide safe and efficient conditions for interaction between personnel and machinery.

Industry is moving on from the stage where safety is seen as just a bolt-on legal requirement towards the concept of total functional safety embedded via the control system. This requires advanced technology and advanced thinking. With this approach, the rewards can be massive savings in downtime costs and increased levels of employee morale.

By combining the right safety systems and access to expertise in automation safety, it is not just possible but highly likely that dramatic improvements over existing processes can be gained.

Companies such as Rockwell Automation can provide high integrity solutions for monitoring the status of machinery and the location of personnel. They can provide the sensing, logic, power control and communication necessary to ensure that processes will be always be safe but will only stop when they really need to do so.

Virtually every aspect of manufacturing process can benefit from a good concept for safety. This means that the old theory that "safety is just a cost" needs challenging and companies must embrace the possibility that it may be good business in every sense.

There are two main arguments – economic and ethical – to challenge companies that are holding back from investing in safety equipment. Although, these would seem to be at odds, they are in fact closely linked. They are linked because safety always pays: a safe machine is unlikely to be shut down by inspectors, or cause costly interruptions to production as a result of an accident.

The availability of empirical data such as the reduction in workplace injuries is powerful evidence that a company's commitment to providing a safer workplace boosts employee morale and leads to improved productivity. However, the productivity gains and cost savings attributed to fewer accidents, reduced medical expenses and legal and insurance costs are still often overlooked. When considering safety in this capacity, its value can be more easily determined by reviewing the costs of time lost due to past injuries.

The direct costs of these incidents, such as workers' compensation, are easy to grasp, but the indirect costs such as lost production time and resources are more difficult to determine. The total incident cost, the sum of the direct and indirect costs, is the key to determining the impact of accidents on a company's profitability.

In conclusion, it becomes clear that by investing in proper safety provision, a company is not only fulfiling its moral obligation to safeguard its most valuable asset – its workforce – it is also ensuring continuity of future production.

Derek Jones is safety business development manager at Rockwell Automation

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