Page 39 - MetalForming November 2010

employee tied off approximately 15 to 20 seconds before he fell.
The company, a safety leader in the industry, asserted unpreventable employee misconduct. The court said: “The record also established that respondent has a well-communicated, comprehensive and properly enforced safety program...” The court found that the company had written testing, regular inspections of safety-program compliance and a disciplinary program. While nobody had ever been disciplined for violation of that particular rule, employees had been disciplined for other safety violations. The company also held a toolbox meeting every morn- ing and filled out a hazard assessment.
The court found in favor of the employer and stated that the accident was “an unforeseeable event caused by the idiosyncratic actions of the employ-
ee who, for some unknown reason, unhooked himself.” The company avoided all penalties in this unfortunate situation by having a proper safety pro- gram and training and enforcement of its program.
My law firm recently defended a con- struction company where an employee was observed standing on a ledge with- out wearing fall protection. By unlucky happenstance, at the very moment the employee ran out onto the balcony, OSHA compliance officers happened to drive by and see him. At approxi- mately the same moment, the supervi- sor on scene also noticed him on the balcony and ordered him to get off immediately.
The timing could not have been worse; the pictures taken by the com- pliance officers showed the employee on the balcony for less than one minute.
The compliance officers cited the com- pany (who had a stellar safety record) for the violation as they had irrefutable photographic proof of the violation.
The company asserted the defense of unpreventable employee misconduct. In trial, the evidence proved that the company had a thorough safety pro- gram, that it had trained its employees on the program, that it actively enforced the program, and that the program was effective in practice. We also were able to show that this was a momentary viola- tion without management knowledge— as soon as management became aware it corrected the violation.
In the end, we prevailed by showing that the company was not at fault for the violation based on employee miscon- duct. All fines were dropped and the company was able to maintain its stel- lar safety record. MF
By Drew Stevens
Error-proofing concepts for toolmakers and die designers
This new book from the Precision Metalforming Association is written by long-time die-sensor expert Drew Stevens, who shows readers step by step how to develop modern sensing technologies for the pressroom and apply them to a lean-manu- facturing environment. “Slow stamping-press speeds and frequent die crashes are not acceptable,” writes Stevens, “and the manufacturers that choose to shift their thinking to new technologies will prevail in the world metalforming market.”
Stevens is a journeyman diemaker and developer of specialized sensor-based die- protection training and application-assistance programs for metalforming compa- nies. He also writes an error-proofing column for PMA’s monthly e-newsletter, Tool & Die Authority. In this 112-page book, loaded with illustrations and photos, Stevens explores in detail how creating an autonomous die-protection expert in your organ- ization can prevent unplanned downtime, save die-repair costs and prevent bad parts from getting to the customer. Chapters address sensor selection and installa- tion; using sensors to avoid strip-feeding problems; proper feed detection; part- ejection issues; crash prevention; and design and development of a sensor test cart.
Automating the metalforming process while adopting lean-manufacturing con- cepts such as just-in-time and Kaizen has helped make the stamping process less expensive, faster and more efficient than ever. To learn how to protect those investments by applying sensors in your metalforming operation and support your lean-manufacturing directives, order a copy of Stevens’ Die Protection for Lean Manufacturing.
Order today
Call Marlene at 216-901-8800 x127 Online at www.pma.org and visit Marketplace
www.metalformingmagazine.com
METALFORMING / NOVEMBER 2010 37