Plant murders require a new look at safety issues
June 26, 2008

1. Another aspect of plant safety: The murder of five people at a Kentucky plastics plant this week brings to the front an issue of safety that isn’t talked about enough. We have OSHA rules and regulations about eye safety and arc flash and exposure to chemicals, but we don’t spend nearly enough time on conflict resolution. We have talked about plant security as it relates to terror attacks and espionage, but do little to focus on our own workers in house. As times get tougher, there is going to be more pressure on everyone. How we respond to that pressure, and how we train our workers to respond to that pressure, could help prevent a repeat of this kind of tragedy.

2. Workers needed in Indiana manufacturing plant: Honda should probably pay us for this little announcement, but we’ll give ‘em a freebie this time: There’s a worker shortage as they get ready to open their new Civic manufacturing plant in its Greensburg plant. WTHR in Indianapolis reports the company is looking for about 500 workers for its plant, which figures to be busy with the rush toward more fuel-efficient cars. And to that end…

3. Reprieve for the Ranger? Workers near Minneapolis were concerned that production was ending next year on Ford’s Ranger series of light-duty trucks. Instead, according to a story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Ford has called a halt to F-150 production, citing fuel efficiency concerns. While that’s not good for F-150 workers, it could be a reprieve for the Ranger, which could have its production cycle extended by at least two years to 2011.

4. We did this to ourselves, you know… The first oil crisis in the 1980s forced America to rethink the way it drives, and forced automakers to re-engineer the cars we drive. Then soccer moms came along, and it became chic to drive SUVs and mini-vans. We loaded them up with DVD players and ice chests and tables – an RV on four wheels. It requires discipline to be a consumer these days, and we’re paying for our lack of it. It’s not the whole problem behind expanded world oil use, of course, but it didn’t help. Europe drives Smart cars; most of ours are just dumb.

5. Regional view, national message: Here’s a well-considered editorial in the Business Review of Western Michigan about the new director of the Michigan Manufacturers Association and the tasks he faces in a state whose manufacturing economy is evolving. The issues raised – education, high-tech manufacturing and a view of the future – are issues we discuss all the time. Some of the solutions, as the editorial suggests, are national in scope, but others are regional. That’s why organizations like MMA are so crucial in focusing local leaders and local manufacturers to solve local issues. If everyone does that, we’ll have a national solution.

Posted by Wolseley on June 26, 2008 | Comments (0)