Document bOO73V3X5OaemowqNax991n8D

It is the policv of this company to 1 Apply the principles of safety engineer ing to product design --to facilitate sale manufacture and safe use 2 Develop operating instructions embody ing principles of safe operation --to assist the customer in the safe use of equipment 3 Embody safety research m product re search and development to improve the product--from both manufacturing and customer safety standpoints There is no question that machinery manu facturers should be interested in product safety Ever-increasing legislative and legal awareness makes it imperative that voluntary action be taken to avoid the inevitable result of legislation that will force industry to follow specific requirements that mav often not be workable The product designed (and labeled) svith safety in mind is probably also better able to fulfill its intended function more efficiently and more economically It should also be easier to market The designer should anticipate the use -- and misuse--of a product Standards and consumer safety Consumer safety can be advanced through the voluntary standards The USA Stand ards Institute is studying the best ways to assemble the best thoughts available on the handling of major national safety issues --how to best coordinate and improve the prompt exchange of information about accidents of all kinds through a centralized agency Underwriters' Laboratories sets standards for consumer safety Voluntary standards grow out of the com mercial needs of the marketplace and the legal responsibilities in the seller-consumer relationship Standards must be feasible, both from the standpoints of cost and engi neering Industry must help determine that feasibility Standards can best be written to include the products or quality of products, rather than excluding certain products or qualities The good inclusive standard defines all levels of quality, leaving the preferred level to the user The marketplace then selects pref erences among the products meeting each performance level --except when a particular level of performance is unacceptable to society because it is considered unsafe Then, through a public process, the commun ity can act to bar that level In other words, adequate standards will be based upon per formance, not the specifications of qualities, and all levels of performance must be in cluded Products must be adequately labeled to inform the user of the level of performance they meet In this wav, competition based on product quality would be encouraged Why product safety is important The prevention of accidents to customers using mechanical products is important 1 To protect others from needless injury 2 Repeat sales are needed to stay in business 3 Third-party suits are increasing Through reports of injuries or near-injunes, it is known that electrically or mechanically dangerous products have been sold There are instances in which sweaters and thermal underclothing have caught fire or melted, resulting in serious burns to the wearer Hair-set sprays have caused serious skin bums to the user Product containers have even proven unsafe For nearly every quality hand or powered tool manufactured, some manufacturers have sold low quality and often weak or dangerous competitive tools at a lower cost The plastic frames of many eye glasses bum -- some even flash There have been many instances of injury reported Legal action against manufacturers exists and undoubtedly will increase No manu factured product is immune Certain types of manufactured products are more suscepti ble than others While to-date few safety professionals have had any responsibility for product safety, there definitely is a trend beyond the preven tion of work injuries In many companies, including insurance companies, safety per sonnel are called "loss prevention engineers" or "specialists" or the name of the department or division in which they are employed is known as the "loss prevention department" or "engineering and loss prevention depart ment " The safety professional usually has com- 79