Machine Safety - Wired versus Integrated Safety Automation!
As a plant manager does it make any difference to you whether your machines are guarded via wired safety guards or integrated safety automation guards?........You alone own the safety culture of your business.
J.B. Titus
As 
a plant manager does it make any difference to you whether your machines are guarded via wired safety guards or integrated safety automation guards? Are you aware that the machine safety standards have changed allowing the integrated safety choice? Have you had any executive level training on the new safety rated components and their included operator diagnostics? Have you attended any seminars focused at the operational benefits companies have enjoyed as a result of integrated safety automation? If your answer to these questions is generally “no” then it might be a good idea to attend the Control Engineering Integrated Safety Webcast on April 14th at 2:00 PM (EST).
You alone own the safety culture of your business. If your safety practice is stuck in the past – learn about the new choices you have today that might increase your OEE, your productivity, or your company moral. Consider upgrading your safety culture and your safety operating policy. Machine safety is no longer relegated to hard wiring, little to no diagnostics, intermittent downtime, welded contacts, etc. due to directives that required “everything safety shall be hard wired.”
Let’s be fair though because there remains a definite viable choice for hard wiring as a best practice. Such as; small machines, short runs of cables, few components, or no discernable competitive advantage. However, what maintains your machine’s level of safety compliance after its commissioned? In my opinion, there’s only one answer – your “Safety Culture.” Only your safety culture over time will keep those wire terminations tightly secured, replace that control relay immediately when the contacts are welded, and in general keep that machine’s safety compliance honed as it was when it was commissioned. Otherwise, your safety compliance will slowly and quietly degrade over time increasing the potential safety risk.
The “Safety Integration” Webcast on April 14th will help upgrade your thinking and your possibilities for a competitive advantage.
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Machine Safety - Hardwired vs Integrated?
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Contact: www.jbtitus.com for “Solutions for Machine Safety”.
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2012 Salary Survey
In a year when manufacturing continued to lead the economic rebound, it makes sense that plant manager bonuses rebounded. Plant Engineering’s annual Salary Survey shows both wages and bonuses rose in 2012 after a retreat the year before.
Average salary across all job titles for plant floor management rose 3.5% to $95,446, and bonus compensation jumped to $15,162, a 4.2% increase from the 2010 level and double the 2011 total, which showed a sharp drop in bonus.