AmeriTi has developed a 5-Tier approach for monitoring the work environment, responding to safety concerns, and improving the safety system. These five tiers encompass the entire workforce and enable AmeriTi the flexibility to adjust the safety program quickly and efficiently to address safety concerns and to adjust to changing regulations.
Regulatory Adherence
AmeriTi is fully compliant with all state and federal environmental and safety regulations. In an attempt to remain proactive, AmeriTi annually invites the Michigan arm of OSHA to its facilities as part of MI-OSHA’s “Take a Stand for Safety and Health Day”. As part of this voluntary event, MI-OSHA inspects AmeriTi’s facilities and makes recommendations for ways in which AmeriTi can improve their processes and prevent injuries.
Front-line Contact
On a daily and weekly basis, all plant supervisors issue safety contacts with their employees. These safety contacts touch on specific issues within the plant such as safe work practices, potential hazards to be aware of, and notifications of safety incidents if they do occur.
In addition, each supervisor also trains his employees monthly on emergency procedures such as fire prevention and suppression, tornado shelter locations, and evacuation routes. These safety contacts help to keep safety on the minds of all employees each day.
Feedback
AmeriTi solicits safety feedback from its employees through a number of different channels. The safety and quality committee is one method of feedback and employees are invited to funnel ideas and concerns through their committee members.
Employees are required to complete safety start-up checklists at the beginning of their shift. These checklists involve inspection of machinery and mobile equipment to insure they are in proper working order prior to being used.
Any potential dangers are immediately reported to supervisory personnel and the checklists are reviewed daily by supervisors and the safety manager.
Visitors
Visitors to AmeriTi Manufacturing are required to sign in before entering the facility and must wear certain personal protective equipment (PPE) when touring the plant. In the event that a visitor does not have the required PPE, AmeriTi Manufacturing will provide PPE for use in the plant.
Visitors must wear the following:
- Hard hat
- Safety glasses
- Long-sleeved shirt or jacket
- Safety toe shoes or boots
In addition, there are a number of regulations visitors must follow while on AmeriTi Manufacturing’s property.
Contractors
AmeriTi Manufacturing is committed to the safety of all individuals at AmeriTi work-sites, be they employees, visitors, or contractors. To this end, AmeriTi has instituted a set of rules for contractors working on AmeriTi premises. View and print a PDF version (below) of these regulations. The form must be read and understood, then signed and submitted to AmeriTi Manufacturing prior to starting work on AmeriTi premises. Any questions regarding the regulations may be directed to Keith Berger, Safety Manager at AmeriTi.
Joint Committees
Safety and Quality Committee
AmeriTi’s Safety and Quality Committee meets on a monthly basis and includes the President, Safety Manager, Safety Associate, Quality Manager, Quality Associate, up to three production supervisors, and up to six representatives from the UAW production workforce. The committee discusses a variety of safety-related issues, proposes improvements, and the members of the committee act as ambassadors for the safety program in the rest of the plant.
Safety and Quality Task Force
AmeriTi’s Joint Safety and Quality Task Force includes the President, Safety Manager, Quality Manager, Operations Manager, Assistant Operations Manager, R & D Manager, and a senior Production Department Manager. This group meets monthly to discuss on-going initiatives regarding safety and quality, propose new ideas and improvements, analyze performance, and review feedback from hourly production personnel.
LEARNING
AmeriTi has initiated a comprehensive training and LEARNING program that is directed to Safety and Quality. These responsibilities are closely related, and all employees need a strong understanding of the processes, operation of equipment, and product requirements. The start-up sheets, work instructions, and procedures are documents contribute to the overall knowledge of the operations.
We need a strong culture of performing all of the tasks according to the procedures so we can achieve superior performance with safety, quality, and efficiency.
This will be achieved through training and LEARNING. We will be going plant-wide with our LEARNING initiative, and it will be on-going. This will be led by production supervisors with involvement from all production employees on all shifts.