Safety Articles

Hands are the most used tools in the workplace, making their protection from on-the-job hazards critically important to maintaining employee productivity. Hand dangers are around every corner. Depending on the workplace, employees’ hands are endangered from chemicals, abrasive surfaces, splinters, broken glass, and cuts or scrapes, among countless other hazards. According to the US Department…

Workplace safety is a growing concern among workers in North America. According to Injury Facts®, preventable workplace deaths totaled 4,414 in 2017 in the U.S., the fourth year in a row this number has increased. And, for every worker lost, countless loved ones, co-workers, and friends are affected. According to the National Safety Council, a…

Within the next decade approximately 2.7 million Baby Boomers (1946-1964) will retire, thereby ensuring that tens of thousands of positions will become available without a ready supply of American workers to fill them. Statistics paint an especially gloomy picture for the manufacturing sector, and the resulting widening of the skills gap as young replaces old….

While conveyor belts are integral facets of the distribution process and most warehouses could not function without them, they also pose the potential to cause serious injuries and sometimes even fatalities. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that over 40 workplace fatalities a year are the result of…

History of U.S. Machine Safeguarding When manufacturing moved from small shops to factories during the Industrial Revolution, inexperienced, often very young workers were confronted with a confusing jumble of moving belts, pulleys and gears. While pre-industrial craftsmen faced risks from kilns and hand tools, industrialization introduced massive steam engines and fast-moving machines. Adults and children,…

Technology advances can keep the operator safe and the press brake running. Even though the U.S. has some very strict machine guarding regulations, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that press brake operators in this country suffer more than 350 amputations per year—and these are only the reported injuries. The question is why? For one,…

Last year in America 2.9 million employees (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics) suffered a workplace injury from which they never recover, at a cost to business of nearly $60 billion (Liberty Mutual Insurance). These statistics are staggering. To help gain a better perspective on the realities of workplace danger, we have compiled a list of…

Pinching your finger in a door can be painful but certainly not life threatening. Pinch-point injuries involving industrial machinery are another story, one that rarely has a happy ending. What is a pinch point? A pinch point is “any point at which it is possible for a person or part of a person’s body to…

Did you know that June is National Safety Month? Rockford Systems has partnered with the National Safety Council to promote safety to our valued customers! Nearly 13,000 American workers are injured each day, and each injury is preventable. Here are some of the safety topics NSC is focusing on: Fatigue Adults need seven to nine…