GB 7231 is a pipe marking standard for Chinese pipes used in industrial situations. The standard covers a variety of things including the colors, symbols and other marketing specifications necessary for safety. The standard goes into great detail regarding what needs to be used when marking pipes whether they are carrying harmless things like water or…
Tony Ferraro | May 30, 2013 | Pipe Marking | Facility Efficiency, Labeling, Pipe Marking, Regulations & Compliance
Servicing heavy machinery has been an extremely dangerous occupation for many years. In an attempt to reduce the possibility of injury or even death there have been standards created by OSHA and other groups to help limit the dangers. One of the main focuses of these standards was hazardous energy control. The idea is that when people…
Tony Ferraro | May 17, 2013 | Safety | Electrical Safety, Lockout Tagout, OSHA, Regulations & Compliance, Workplace Safety
The idea behind operator based care is that people who work with a particular piece of machinery are the ones who are best suited to identify and perform the general day to day maintenance of the machine. They will notice, for example, if the machine starts making an odd noise or is running low on…
Tony Ferraro | May 16, 2013 | Continuous Improvement | Facility Efficiency, TPM
While many facilities choose to implement a higher standard for their lockout / tagout procedures, the OSHA standard does have some minimal requirements to be in compliance for this type of work. Following the minimal lockout/tagout procedures will keep people much safer than having no safety standard in place at all, and it is a great place to…
Tony Ferraro | May 15, 2013 | Lockout Tagout, Safety | Electrical Safety, Lockout Tagout, OSHA, Regulations & Compliance, Workplace Safety
It is not uncommon while walking through any type of factory, refinery or other facility to see liquids dripping from pipes or other areas. Disturbingly, however, in many cases the liquid which is leaking out is toxic or hazardous to the health of the people working around it or the environment in general. In some…
Tony Ferraro | May 14, 2013 | Pipe Marking | Facility Marking, Labeling, Pipe Marking, Visual Workplace, Workplace Safety
There are few things more disturbing than reading about fires and other emergencies in areas that did not have proper exits for the people inside the buildings. A quick look back in the news can find several examples in both the US and around the world where dozens or even hundreds of people died because…
Tony Ferraro | May 13, 2013 | Safety | Emergency Evacuation, Facility Marking, Safety Signs, Workplace Safety
The number and type of injuries that take place in any given facility will have a major effect on many things including the overall profitability and efficiency of a given area. Injuries of all types cause major work slowdowns because the individual has to get treated and depending on the situation the entire area may…
Tony Ferraro | May 10, 2013 | Safety | Facility Efficiency, Workplace Safety
When evaluating a facility for ways to improve efficiency and implement lean standards there are many different areas to observe. For most companies it is important to take advantage of the IT staff when planning and implementing any changes or improvements throughout the facility. While IT won’t be able to assist with every single step…
Tony Ferraro | April 24, 2013 | Lean | Facility Efficiency, Lean Manufacturing
Kanban systems are an important scheduling system used in ‘just-in-time’ production facilities. The word Kanban actually means signboard or billboard, and with these systems each part or product is only supplied as it is needed. This critical part of the just in time method of manufacturing helps to eliminate waste in a variety of ways…
Tony Ferraro | April 17, 2013 | Kanban, Lean, Lean Manufacturing | Barcoding, Facility Efficiency, Kanban, Lean, Lean Manufacturing
As most people are aware, six sigma is a concept of process measurement and improvement used by many companies around the world. The goal in any six sigma process is to have no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. An opportunity is any specific task which is performed. It could be anything from the manufacturing of…
Tony Ferraro | April 17, 2013 | Continuous Improvement, Lean, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma | Continuous Improvement, Facility Efficiency, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma
