Safety first ... not so sure.

What is your facility's safety record? The industry's doesn't look so good.

According to records issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) earlier this summer, at least 56 workers from ferrous and nonferrous metalcasting facilities in the U.S. were killed in accidents from January 2003 to December 2007. In addition, 94 employees were involved in non-fatal accidents that caused injury during that same time period. Accidents, according to the OSHA report, are categorized as: "caught in machinery/amputation, struck by/crushed, burn, fall from height, explosion/fire, electrocution and other."

Safety is a sensitive topic: Regardless of the level of focus a firm and its workers place on safety, mistakes will happen and workers will find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. No amount of planning can eliminate human error. I understand this. OSHA understands this. And, I believe, the majority of the general public understands this.

The problem is that these OSHA numbers reach beyond "wrong place/wrong time accidents." I am alarmed by the number of fatalities and injuries at U.S. metalcasting facilities (not including diecasting) during the time period covered by this report. Is our industry's mentality as safe as it should be?

Perform a quick safety checklist for your facility:

* Do your workers on the melt deck wear the proper personal protective equipment from head to toe?

* Do your workers follow standard lockout/tagout procedures before inspecting/maintaining equipment?

* Are all your forklift drivers fully trained and licensed?

* Have your workers been trained on how to handle the chemicals in your facility?

While these questions may seem basic, they refer to three areas in which many of our industry's injuries occur.

On the bright side, our industry is improving. Recordable injury and illness cases for metalcasters in the U.S. dropped 15% from 2004 to 2006, according to the most recent OSHA data. And, cases with days away from work dropped more than 12% during the same time period. In addition, as the number of metalcasting facilities in the U.S. reduces and the level of automation in plants increases, the total number of injuries and deaths will continue to reduce.

But is this enough? Shouldn't our industry be doing more?

Based on some of the facilities I have toured in which melt deck personnel fail to wear any of the proper protection, I think I know the answer. Based on the fact that our industry's recordable injury and illness cases are still double those of manufacturing as a whole, tells me where we stand. But the truth is that each metalcaster must ask itself if its facilities are just paying lip service to safety or have they really developed a safe environment?

Industry safety standards exist. Procedures on top of manuals on top of guidelines are available for your facility to review to ensure that best practices are followed. But it takes an upper management commitment to ensure safety is a top priority for production-focused workers. This problem is easy to fix and within everyone's reach. I beg you to make the effort.

Alfred T. Spada, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

If you have any comments about this editorial or any other item that appears in MODERN CASTING, email me at aspada@afsinc.org.