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20 PalletCentral • March-April 2021 palletcentral.com SAFETY MEASURES By Maura Keller P redicting the future is like forecasting the weather. You think you know what's going to happen – then it doesn't. Within the pallet industry there is a lot attention paid to the safety and security of employees, usually in terms of accidents or the likelihood of personal injury. Personal injury prevention is paramount in this industry for not only company employees, but also people who live near pallet company facilities, as well as first responders. As such, pallet companies continually are monitoring essential fire prevention tactics and safety protocols required to keep the community safe. Tom Spahr, general manager at J.F. Rohrbaugh & Co., Inc. says fire safety is always on his company's priority list – not only because of the materials they work with, but also to ensure all of J.F. Rohrbaugh & Co.'s employees' safety. "Unfortunately, experience with a fire of any kind is never wanted or planned; but we did have a big fire in 2018," Spahr says. Due to this unfortunate experience, the team at J.F. Rohrbaugh & Co. learned first hand how significantly a company can be affected. "It also affects all of the employees who depend on us keeping our production going for their income. Any type of loss of production is lost wages for them," Spahr says. Production Recovery As Spahr explains, when production starts again after something as catastrophic as a fire, the amount of time it takes to get into new routines for the company as a whole is something a company doesn't always think about. "Something as simple as a new layout of product storage or machinery changes your normal day-to- day steps, especially for employees who have been there for years," Spahr says. "e steps we have taken to improve fire safety are ones that were always done; we just do them more often and on a more focused level." J.F Rohrbaugh & Co.'s cleaning procedures were enhanced to ensure everything is done properly and put back in its proper place. In addition, supervisors and management do more walk-throughs throughout the day and especially at the end of shift, checking to make sure everything is turned off and is properly prepared to close for the evening. Carly Taylor, one of the owners of Oregon Pallet in Salem, OR agrees in the inherent need to make sure all precautions are in place for fire safety. When creating a corporate safety plan, utilizing best practices for the remote possibility of an unthinkable fire scenario can save your business. ESSENTIAL FIRE iStockphoto.com/Konoval/DSCimage

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