BWC Names Safety Innovation Award Finalists

To spotlight employers’ ingenuity and commitment to workplace safety, The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) annually sponsors Safety Innovation Awards.

The program recognizes innovations that result in risk reduction, cost savings, and potential application to other workplaces, industries or operations.

After considering dozens of applications and visiting the sites of eight semifinalists, BWC has announced the following employers as the four finalists for the 2018 Safety Innovation Awards:

• MPW Industrial Services (Hebron) – M1-RV crawler – A remote-controlled vacuuming system that cleans clarifier tanks; it eliminates employee exposure from hazards of entering and cleaning clarifier tanks
• Navistar (Springfield) – Cab destructive weld tear down – An articulating arm that holds a worker’s pneumatic tool during weld tear down of truck cabs; it reduces the potential of falling, bad postures and awkward positions due to high reaction forces on employees during the process
• Ramco Electric Motors (Greenville) – Aluminum die-casting automated biscuit return – A conveyor system that delivers aluminum die-casting byproducts (aka “biscuits”) from the casting machine back to the 1,300-degree liquid aluminum bath; the system eliminates the exposures of an individual performing the task of dropping the biscuits back in the crucible
• Terracon Consultants Inc. (Cincinnati) – YM3000 pin puller – A redesigned T-handle that is adjustable in height and allows employees to remain standing when pulling 28-inch pins (used for soil density readings) from the ground; it decreases the potential of back or wrist strains from pin pulling, helps reduce fatigue and increases productivity

The four finalists will present their innovations to an independent three-judge panel and the public at the Ohio Safety Congress & Expo 2018 in Columbus on March 7-9. OSC18 attendees can cast a vote for their favorite innovation to determine the recipient of The People’s Choice award. 2/6/2018