By Beno Konaraki, VP of Production for WMP
As National Safety Month kicks off this June, it’s a great time for metal fabrication and manufacturing shops to evaluate their safety practices.
At Woven Metal Products (WMP), we believe safety is every team member’s responsibility. We train employees to incorporate safety awareness into all their decisions.
However, we’re always open to improving our approach and have recently embraced AI technologies to strengthen our safety measures.
Check out these ways to consider leveraging AI to create a safer working environment.
1. Optimizing Toolbox Meetings
Each week, we hold toolbox meetings with our shop team members to discuss safety issues and best practices.
These meetings are a cornerstone of our safety culture, providing a forum to discuss mission critical updates for our team. We’ve taken these meetings to the next level by using AI to help develop our meeting agendas. Our AI systems analyze internal safety data, recent operational incidents, and emerging trends in the metal welding and custom fabrication industry to curate the topics for discussion.
With this approach, our toolbox meetings have become more engaging, relevant and effective for our team. As a result, our team is more informed and safety conscious.
2. Creating Comprehensive Safety Training Manuals
We all know how important safety training manuals are, but they can be cumbersome to continually manage and update. We tried another approach: using AI to enhance our existing training manuals, going beyond just compiling best practices and regulatory compliance guidelines.
With AI, we were able to analyze equipment manuals, safety records, and operational data to produce specific do’s and don’ts for every piece of equipment in our shop.
The result is a set of clear, concise guidelines that our team members can easily follow. By providing user-friendly and relevant guidelines, we’re promoting a culture of safety and significantly reducing the likelihood of accidents and equipment misuse.
3. Enhanced Safety Monitoring
Continually monitoring the work environment is crucial for identifying potential safety hazards in real time. We’ve implemented AI-driven safety monitoring systems that continuously scan for unsafe conditions, such as improper equipment use or hazardous working conditions.
With immediate feedback and alerts, we can address potential issues before they lead to accidents. This proactive approach not only improves workplace safety but has also made our operations more efficient overall.
The Future of Workplace Safety
Integrating AI into our safety protocols at WMP has improved how we approach workplace safety. As we celebrate National Safety Month, we encourage other fabrication and manufacturing companies to explore AI’s potential in enhancing their safety practices.
Learn more about our comprehensive approach to health & safety: https://wovenmetal.com/about/sustainability/health-and-safety/