Safety is Job #1!

This week I spent most of my time shooting and editing an in-house safety training video for our manufacturing facility in Franksville, Wisconsin. I admit, it's not Iron Man 3, but I still get pretty excited about doing a big production like this.  I'm about half-a-day away from completing this video which will be shown to all new employees working at Quick Cable.  From personal protective equipment to safe lifting practices to working around forklifts to working in our die cast area, We cover a lot of areas of safety in only 10 minutes. Quick Cable is very safety conscious and is always looking to improve safety awareness in the workplace. 

Safety Not Just for Quick Cable

Though this video is a safety video for our plant, some of the points made (see below) actually can be applied to almost any manufacturing facility or battery related work place:

1. "Before entering the manufacturing facility, always wear proper clothing and protect yourself with the proper protective equipment.  Proper eye protection and steel toe shoes are required in the entire manufacturing area." This is common sense and could be applicable for anyone working around heavy batteries. Know your environment and use common sense.

2. "Certain areas within manufacturing such as the die cast area require additional Personal Protective Equipment such as hearing protection, long sleeve shirts , face shields and gloves." Face shields and gloves are definitely smart to have on whenever you are working in a high exposure battery environment. Quick Cable offers a variety of personal protective equipment from face shields to gloves to aprons. 

 
3. Safe Lifting Practices. One Group 24 size battery can easily weigh over 50 lbs and a Group 27 size battery can exceed 70 lbs. If working with batteries is your full-time job then you know that practicing safe lifting practices is critical to your safety and continued health.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "More than one million workers suffer back injuries each year, and back injuries account for one of every five workplace injuries or illnesses. Further, one-fourth of all compensation indemnity claims involve back injuries, costing industry billions of dollars on top of the pain and suffering borne by employees." 

If you have to lift a battery  Quick Cable offers a variety of battery carriers to help safely transport them. So here are some quick pointers on safe lifting at work:

1. ·      Tuck in your chin to keep your back as straight as possible while lifting
2. ·      Lift with your legs
3. ·      Ask for help with heavy, awkward items.
4. ·      Don’t use your back muscles to do the lifting
5. ·      Don’t try to lift an item that is too heavy or awkward
6. ·      Don’t twist your body while carrying an object
7. ·      Don’t attempt team lifting without proper coordination

Battery Safety

We created a general battery safety video a few years back. Check it out. It may be something you can show to your battery crew as a refresher.



Job Opening at Quick Cable

Just an FYI: If you know anyone interested in working for a progressive, growing company, Quick Cable is looking for a Director of Global Suppy Chain. Click here to get the full job description. 

Well that's all I have today. Next week is a short week here at Quick Cable so this will be the last blog post before the holiday. Have a great 4th of July and be safe.

Richard Sosa
Video Producer/Blogger
Quick Cable Corporation