Safety helps drive manufacturing growth, ASSE reports

American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Manufacturing Practice Specialty Administrator Michael Coleman said today that American manufacturers are now increasing market share in the international marketplace due, in part, to maintaining effective work safety and health programs. He will discuss how developing and implementing effective work safety programs help manufacturers stay competitive at this year’s ASSE Professional Development Conference and Expo to be held June 28-July 1 in San Antonio.
A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia today stated the U.S. manufacturing sector has shown its best performance since September. The report, a survey taken of U.S. manufacturers, said East Coast manufacturing and production firms reported improved numbers for June in terms of new production activity, orders and shipments. It could indicate the U.S. economy may be improving.
"We don’t sacrifice safety for productivity," Coleman said. "U.S. manufacturers are doing a good job competing with international companies. Our company knows that by not cutting safety and health programs in this economic downturn and by doing a better job through internal innovations involving people/employees in the entire process, ongoing education and training, always looking at improvements, working smarter and looking at automation innovations we, along with other U.S. companies, are holding onto and gaining in market share worldwide.
"However, those that reduce their safety and health budgets and programs are looking at losing that competitive edge and by and large their competitive advantage in the international marketplace today and for the future," he noted.
Coleman said his company is always looking at ways to make the workplace safer and finds ASSE to be a good way to share best practices with occupational safety, health and environmental professionals worldwide to continue to enhance work safety.
"As for the economy, many companies are doing more with less, but we continue to communicate to employers that workplace safety and health is not an area that should be cut," Coleman said. "It will backfire on a business. Workplace safety processes must be in place at all times. They are even more critical during business downturns."

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