Survey says: Victaulic Co. practices what it preaches when it comes to EHS.
Companies often are surprised by employee satisfaction surveys. Often, the messages managers think are being conveyed to employees are not getting through, and managers and employees offer very different answers to survey questions.
That's not the case at Victaulic, says Megan Longenderfer. "We are proud that our employees feel safety rules and environmental regulations are embraced and consistently followed across the organization. In fact, a recent global employee survey revealed that this trait, more than any other corporate objective or leadership behavior, is emphasized on a daily, weekly and annual basis," she reveals.
Over the past three years, more than $2 million has been spent on facility improvements and upgrades. These improvements include construction of air-conditioned control rooms on the melt and pour decks, which act as barriers against metal splash; enhancing fall protection; installing new jib cranes and lifting equipment to reduce or eliminate the requirement for employees to lift more than 40 pounds, investing in robotic machinery to eliminate the manual labor-intensive process of ladle reline operations and introducing a new foundry coat for employees. For example:
World-class safety coat – The average temperature in a foundry routinely rises above 100 F. Because of the nature of the work, protective clothing is required, but can add to employee discomfort and contribute to heat-related illness. Using input from employees, Victaulic innovated a fabric that provided more protection but that was lightweight, breathable and more comfortable to wear. Called Bogu PTFE fabric (Bogu – the Japanese word for protective armor, PTFE – polytetrafluororethylene), the fabric tested superior in terms of safety and comfort to the conventional aluminized glass coats employees previously wore.
The Brokk robot – The Brokk robot was identified by Victualic's ladle reline operator who believed it could be repurposed to eliminate the labor intensive task of ladle relining and repair. The previous process required six hours of pneumatic jackhammer/needle fun operations. He personally contacted Brokk Inc. for a demonstration. The robot takes 70 percent less time and eliminated ergonomic risks.
Victaulic Co.
Easton, Penn.
1,600 employees/9 EHS professionals
Manufacture of pipe
couplings, fittings, valves,
sprinkler heads
