b'\x1b\x1a\x19 \x1f\x18\x1d\x17\x16Machinists CornerGET YOUR UACT TOGETHERA s you may know, I am heavily involvedtechnology for sure, but in the old days wax in and a big advocate of leanwas used to protect the cutting edges from manufacturing. It results in more parts beingbeing nicked. We wax the edges to prevent made with less waste and leads to a clean,our associates from cutting themselves when safe workplace. Many facilities focus on thethey grab the tools.former while ignoring the latter. Even atAfter the wax pot was installed, a UACT facilities that concentrate on having a cleanwas turned in for a timer for the pot. This workplace, too many do not sufficientlysuggestion was intended to prevent a fire if address the safety aspect. the last person using the pot does not turn it A lot of shops just concentrate on theoff.obvious hazards found in a manufacturingThese are just a few of the many UACTs that environment. Eliminating tripping hazardshave been submitted in the past year. Other, comes to mind. But what about the lessmore obvious ones focused on machine leaks, obvious threats to worker safety? How do youcracked viewing windows on CNC machines take those elements into account? and items in marked aisles. We even had To address this concern, our shop usesone for the door leading from the office to unsafe acts or conditions tickets (UACTs). Thethe shop. The door is a solid one without a form is specific to our needs. The internetviewing window. It seems people have come has many samples; you can take a little fromflying out of the office as plant associates various samples until you ultimately fashion awalked by. Oops!ticket that suits your needs. My company is dedicated to employee UACTs help identify and deal withsafety. Every month, we place an informal potential safety issues before they becomequota on UACTs that we in management actual safety hazards. UACTs are also usedwould like to see. The quota is based on to identify shop equipment or areas thatworking days per month. Whenever we have need attention before they become safetygroup meetings, we encourage all employees concerns. Even associates who performto write UACTs. We dont enforce the quota, unsafe acts can have a UACT written aboutbut we do encourage participation. Our them. associates do not get a monetary incentive We instituted UACTs early last year at ourto write UACTs, but they get satisfaction in facility. Since then, almost 300 UACTs havemaking their workplace safer. been written, with more than 250 alreadyOver the past 2 years, we have substantially corrected. Here are a few samples that werereduced the lost-time-accident rate at our written up, some of which you might not evenfacility. This improvement translates to associate right away with safety: lower costs in the form of lower insurance One UACT suggested installing light- premiums. In turn, these lower costs help our blocking window film. We have windowslean initiative.CTEalong the tops of our walls. During parts of the day when the sun is shining, our forklift operators and associates can be temporarily blinded. This can cause them to walk intoMichael Deren is a something in the aisles or drive a forklift intomanufacturing engineer/project manager and a something, injuring themselves. regular CTE contributor. Another UACT recommended purchasingContact him at mderen1@a wax pot for coating our tools. Oldwi.rr.com.34MARCH 2018MachinistCorner.indd 34 2/13/18 3:58 PM'