Axelent's third film about Axel takes place in the industry

Axel on the Shop Floor – the latest video

Axel, our safety expert, is on his travels again, this time in the automated manufacturing industry. Using the latest and smartest protective equipment, this action movie takes you on an instructive journey through the many risks within the industry.

Watch it on YouTube now!

Average cost of an accident that caused lost time*

Metallurgy
38 516 euro

Chemicals, rubber
22 734 euro

Wood, paper, textile, clothes
17 035 euro

*Examples from France

Workplace accidents – how much they cost the company

The lack of proper protective equipment within automated manufacturing can be costly. Everything from a fine for breaching occupational health and safety regulations to costly stoppages – not to mention the cost to those affected.

The serious consequences of workplace accidents for those affected and their families, colleagues and managers have been covered by us at Axelent in previous articles. But a workplace accident could also have catastrophic financial consequences for a company. According to figures from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the annual cost of workplace accidents in the EU alone totals EUR 476 billion. As well as the emotional and financial aspects of caring for the injured person, there are a number of indirect costs, such as equipment replacement, production stoppages, fines/damages, the recruitment and training of a new employee and reduced productivity from other employees, to name but a few.

Prevention using proper protective equipment is significantly cheaper. Axelent is here to help you with this wherever you are located in the world.

Indirect costs of a workplace accident:

Damaged machine or tools
Shutdown of workplace during investigation
Fines/damages
Recruitment and training of a new employee
Administrative costs relating to the accident
Reduced productivity due to less motivation among other employees
Negative press
Legal costs

Sources:
The American Society of Safety Engineers Carsat, France
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

The forklift – our most dangerous tool

The forklift is as indispensable within industry as it is life-threatening if not operated correctly. In the USA alone, forklift accidents lead to 85 deaths a year and account for one in six of all fatal workplace accidents.

In both the UK and Sweden, figures show that forklifts account for more workplace accidents than any other machine. In the UK alone, forklift accidents result in 300 hospital visits a year, which, according to the British Safety Council, is five British workers a day. The most vulnerable are workplace pedestrians, who make up 57 per cent of those injured in the UK and 80 per cent of those injured in the USA. In their study, the British Safety Council claim that many of the accidents could have been avoided if companies had been more stringent in cordoning off walking and driving areas.

In the USA, where 85 people are killed every year and 34,900 are seriously injured in forklift accidents, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) say that accidents would fall by 70 per cent if workplaces provided more training programmes and adopted more stringent safety measures. In addition to the suffering that would be avoided, the overall cost of accidents would drop by USD 94.5 million a year.

Australia is one country that has steadily reduced the number of forklift accidents. In 2008, the number of seriously injured people was registered at 1,100. Seven years later it had dropped to 800. The country has invested heavily in the safety training of forklift drivers and other employees at workplaces where forklifts are used.

Source: Occupational Safety & Health Administration