Keys to Managing Health Risks in Electronics Manufacturing

by

Luke Smith

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted for all of us just how important the safety and sanitization of a site are to manufacturing. Without the proper safety measures, you put your employees and your business at risk.

In electronics manufacturing, a variety of risks make safety considerations even more essential. With chemical, electrical, and material hazards all present on the factory floor, electronic manufacturing service companies have to be more on top of safety than most businesses.

After all, we all need our electronics more than even in the pandemic-stricken world. Here’s what you should know about the importance of risk management in electronics manufacturing and the keys to guarantee workplace safety.

The importance of risk management in electronics

With a host of factors complicating the modern workforce, the last thing you need is a safety concern in your electronics factory. A labor shortage is already impacting a host of industries; without a consistent approach to employee and customer health and safety, you’ll have a harder time finding talent. But the importance of risk management goes far beyond your ability to hire.

On-the-job accidents can lead to loss of life and limb. With 395,300 accidents occurring every year in the U.S. alone, the risk to employees is much too great to ignore. Every leader in the manufacturing sector must be aware of the various ways employees can come to harm on the job. The most common incidents include:

• Transportation accidents
• Slips, trips, and falls
• Contact with objects and equipment
• Exposures to harmful substances
• Fires and explosions

Because electronics manufacturing includes all these risks and more, comprehensive and consistent policies must be maintained to protect employees. This protective process is known as industrial hygiene, and it includes practices for mitigating everything from air contaminants to ergonomic hazards in the workplace.

Industrial hygiene is impossible, however, without the right tools and strategies.

The keys to safe electronics manufacturing

While it might be impossible to avoid accidents entirely, a safe electronics manufacturing workspace is attainable. But it takes the proper strategies. These will serve as the keys for unlocking better practices across a workforce, instilling a safety-first mentality, and driving a more careful manufacturing process. As a result, you can cut down on risks.

The following three items are the keys you need for risk management in electronics manufacturing:

1. Employee education

You won’t have a safer workforce until all workers are well-versed in what safety means. Employee education is key in creating this knowledge at every level of your factory, from cleaning staff to senior managers. Safety training is a core business strategy that comes with the following benefits:

• Reduced operational costs
• Enhanced productivity
• Hiring and employee retention gains
• Greater employee satisfaction

2. Protective equipment

From personal protective equipment (PPE) like face masks to Internet of Things (IoT) sensors for detecting hazardous gases and chemicals, a range of equipment is available to you to help keep workers safe. Electronic equipment is getting better all the time, allowing you to monitor all kinds of conditions in the workplace. Find tools that will help you keep workers safe and reduce all kinds of risks in your facility. These tools will be worth the investment, as they will improve efficiency at the very least and just might save lives.

3. Consistent policies

However, no approach to workplace safety will be effective without consistent safety standards that are always reinforced. For example, protecting your eyes in a high-risk industry like electronics manufacturing requires wearing safety goggles and taking rest breaks. These policies should be reinforced and practiced by all workers where they are needed. Without consistency, it’s too easy for employees to forget equipment like goggles or simply neglect to use them.

These three keys to risk management can help you maintain a safer workforce. Without consistent reinforcement and reevaluation, however, you won’t experience the safety benefits you’re looking for. Train employees intermittently, keep up on advancing protective equipment, and ensure safety policies are consistently followed.

Use OSHA standards as a guide, then implement these keys for a safer electronics manufacturing facility. Doing so just might mean the difference between life and death.