When you’re running a business, it’s crucial to focus on the health and safety of your employees. This is especially true if they have to operate machinery.
There are many ways employees are at risk when using machinery within the business. They could be hit by moving parts, burnt by hot parts, or even crushed in severe cases. So, focusing on machinery safety in the workplace isn’t just a simple preventative measure, it could also potentially save your employee’s lives.
Here, we’ll look at why machinery safety is important in Germany, and what you can do to improve it within the business.
Why it’s important
There are a number of reasons machinery safety is important within the workplace. Firstly, it’s a legal requirement to ensure your employees are safe. In Germany, the health and safety system follow a dual structure. The state safety and health provision are responsible for creating regulations and laws, while the accident insurance institutions produce accident prevention rules.
Your obligations as an employer are set out in the Work Equipment Directive. Pay particular attention to the Occupational Safety and Health Act rules that all German business needed to adhere to. While German manufacturing is undoubtedly some of the best in the world, its machinery is still at risk of faults if regular maintenance isn’t carried out.
If you don’t ensure your machinery is safe and reliable, you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law. This would have detrimental effects on the business. Of course, it also puts your employees at risk, which in turn would also negatively impact the business if something were to happen.
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What can you do?
So, what can you do to ensure maximum machinery safety in the workplace? The good news is there are a few steps you can take.
Firstly, you’ll want to look into installing safety relays. Many businesses in the German machining industry have relied on having safety relays installed to help reinforce that health and safety is one of their top priorities. You’ll find RS Components offer high-quality safety relay devices at affordable prices. They help to monitor the machinery to detect any potential faults. If an error is detected, the safety relay will automatically respond, eliminating the risk.
Alongside these useful devices, you’ll also want to make sure your staff are fully trained. Extensive machinery safety training will significantly reduce the risk of human error. You can also restrict access to dangerous parts.
The importance of machinery maintenance
Another way to guarantee machinery safety, is to carry out routine maintenance. Ideally, you’ll want to get a professional in to do this for you. Carrying out routine maintenance once or twice a year should be enough to pick up on any potential issues and keep the machinery running smoothly.
Overall, machinery safety is extremely important. The above are just some of the ways your business can ensure it is keeping on top of machinery maintenance and safety.
