South Africa has outstanding SABS safety regulations in place when it comes to the handling of electrical and electronic equipment by workers. In addition, an expansive declaration by OHASA (Occupational Health and Safety Act) covers the prevention of accidents pertaining to electrical and electronic hazards in industry. Why then, with all this legislation in place, do so many accidents still occur?
According to Victor Marques, country general manager Omron Electronics South Africa, the problem lies with the effective and resolute enforcements of these standards and acts. “No matter how safe the machinery is that workers operate or handle, or how stringent the policies are, it is all futile if these are not properly policed and if no one is held accountable when things go wrong. Only when stringent penalties are issued to companies and business leaders, will the powers that be sit up and take note. In fact, in certain cases overseas, criminal charges have been meted out against senior management in companies.
“Regarding enforcement of policies, South Africa lags behind to a similar degree to that of other emerging markets. In First World countries with developed economies, any business deal involving electrical or electronic equipment will not be successfully concluded unless the equipment safety regulations have been correctly adhered to. Unfortunately in South Africa, this doesn’t apply on a regular basis and many local companies, who are not part of global multi-nationals, get away with producing equipment with sub-standard safety criteria.”
Omron Electronics South Africa is part of the Omron Corporation headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. A global leader in the field of industrial automation and electronic components, the company specialises in providing high quality industrial electronic equipment that is safe to use. Omron products help prevent accidents in industry from causing injury in the work place.
“Nowadays, all responsible industries recognise the care that they owe their employees,” says Marques. “Taking all possible measures to avoid accidents in the workplace is not only a moral obligation, but also makes sound financial sense. Accidents are expensive, not only in lost working days, medical bills and higher insurance premiums, but also in disrupted production, accident investigations and training of new personnel. Therefore, creating a safe industrial environment is a wise business investment.”
For many years, Omron has gained extensive experience by working closely with the world’s leading machine manufacturers and with the governing bodies that define today’s international safety standards. The company is renowned for its safety industrial applications in the following industries: material handling and logistics, food and beverage, packaging, automotive parts and semiconductors.
Omron’s safety devices are grouped according to the following categories:
* Control and signalling devices – machines that are stopped during production create extra cost. Omron’s signal towers are used to show this status and guide workers to service the machines efficiently, thus minimising downtime, production loss and accidents.
* Safety limit switches – guards and covers on machines protect workers. They limit access to the dangerous parts of the machine. The safety limit switches guarantee that the guards and covers are in place before the machine is started.
* Safety door switches – reliable guard monitoring of the correct position of a door or a guard is a key element in machine safety. Reliable detection of the door position and door locking protects workers. Omron’s range of non-contact switches is designed for applications in the packaging and food industry.
* Safety sensors – safety sensors are the first choice in safeguarding workplaces where workers and machines co-operate. Built-in intelligence stops the machine in conditions that are dangerous for the worker. Omron’s F3S-TGR-CL range offers safety light curtains which include safe control functions for finger, hand and body protection.
* Safe control systems – these are configurable, flexible and simple. Omron safety controllers offer transparent standalone operation and scalability in safety networking applications for all sizes of machine safety control systems.
* Safe actuating – protection of workers is finally achieved when a dangerous condition or movement of the machine is stopped. Omron’s relays and contractors, with integrated safety function shut the machine down quickly, easily and smoothly.
For more information contact Michelle le Roux, Omron, +27 (0)11 579 2600, [email protected], www.industrial.omron.co.za
| Tel: | +27 11 579 2600 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.industrial.omron.co.za |
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