{"id":22250,"date":"2023-08-08T13:23:32","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T13:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=22250"},"modified":"2023-08-09T06:51:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T06:51:06","slug":"loud-and-clear-new-paint-scheme-helps-boost-workplace-safety-at-frce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=22250","title":{"rendered":"Loud and Clear: New Paint Scheme Helps Boost Workplace Safety at FRCE"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In industrial environments like those at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE), the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to workforce safety. From basic PPE like safety glasses and earplugs to more advanced equipment like respirators, each piece helps minimize an employee\u2019s exposure to potential hazards associated with the maintenance, repair and overhaul of military aircraft and their components.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An ongoing initiative to improve understanding of PPE requirements at FRCE is ensuring employees can quickly and easily identify what type of protective equipment is needed to enter industrial areas of the depot. High-visibility, one-foot-wide yellow bars with simple black pictograms depicting an area\u2019s PPE requirements have been painted on the floor at the entrances to hangars, component shops and other industrial spaces, providing the workforce with a simple reference point.<\/p>\n

The new floor markings are standardizing communication and eliminating the potential for confusion, which improves overall workplace safety, said FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. James M. Belmont.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese new PPE markings provide clear, concise communication about what PPE is required on our hangar decks and in our shops, and implementing this initiative is reflective of the healthy safety culture at FRC East,\u201d Belmont said. \u201cSafety is one of the command\u2019s top priorities, and our team is continuously seeking ways to improve workplace safety and occupational health while aligning our processes and practices with forward-leaning aviation industry standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping our workforce safe and healthy affords the command a better opportunity to meet the mission, or even exceed expectations and return these aircraft and components to the Fleet with faster turnaround times,\u201d Belmont continued. \u201cIt\u2019s a win-win situation and it starts, at its very basic core, with employees knowing what protective gear to wear to keep themselves safe in their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the depot\u2019s construction during the World War II era, FRCE has seen decades of directives and regulations regarding safety signage, along with different interpretations of those regulations. Combine that with the wide variety of work areas encompassed by FRCE\u2019s facilities, and the task of communicating the different PPE requirements in different areas can become increasingly challenging, explained FRCE Safety and Occupational Health Division Director Angelo Owens.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the issues we have labored with here is trying to communicate to our employees when and where they should be wearing certain types of PPE, because we\u2019re a very large facility and we have a vast number of shops with different requirements,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd as you transition from one shop to another, depending on the type of work being performed, there may be additional PPE requirements that weren\u2019t present in the adjacent shop you were just in.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to label all of those things and put up signage is challenging,\u201d Owens continued. \u201cSo the idea is to have a systematic, effective means of communication. We\u2019ve made a concerted effort to keep things as simple as possible so we can effectively communicate changing PPE requirements as an individual transitions from one area to another. By having this throughout the facility, no matter where someone is at, the same signage and nonverbal communication about what PPE is required is readily available without having to speak to a shop supervisor or consult an industrial hygiene survey \u2013 one can know by what is displayed right in front of them on the floor markings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The industrial hygiene surveys serve as the starting point for the PPE marking process, Owens noted. An industrial hygiene survey analyzes, identifies and measures workplace hazards that can cause sickness, impaired health or significant discomfort in workers and helps eliminate or control them through appropriate mitigation efforts. FRCE\u2019s Industrial Hygiene Branch has conducted surveys across the depot, and this information is used to label a diagram of the facility with the proper PPE markings for each area. This diagram is passed to FRCE\u2019s Facilities Modernization Shop, which is part of the Facilities and Infrastructure Management Department\u2019s General Facility Branch, and the \u201cMod Squad\u201d takes on the tasks of prepping, painting and finishing the area.<\/p>\n

Because the team needed to accomplish the job without interrupting production, choosing the right products for the job and prepping the areas for paint presented the biggest challenges, said General Facility Branch Head Mike Cundiff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we couldn\u2019t shut down our production areas to do this, but a lot of the floor coatings used in high-traffic areas have a lot of smell, or long curing times, or both,\u201d Cundiff explained. \u201cWe ended up going with a coating that was basically invented for the Coast Guard. They paint boats and deckways with it, and the nice thing is that once you prep the area to be painted the first time, you never have to go back and sand it down again \u2013 you can paint directly over it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This feature is useful in a dynamic environment like FRCE, where shops might move from one location to another based on an aircraft line\u2019s service life and changing workload requirements. It\u2019s especially important considering the Modernization Shop has to prepare the areas for painting during off hours, in order to while keeping production moving on the aircraft and component lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t stop work on the aircraft lines or in the back shops, for that matter,\u201d said Modernization Shop Supervisor Will Bradley. \u201cThere were a lot of challenges early on, and we pulled out all the stops to make it happen. We have a lot of team members with a lot of experience, and we relied on their input and good ideas, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The painting itself has gone smoothly, Cundiff noted. The team can easily paint the 12-inch yellow strip and then lay down the pictogram stencils, created by the depot\u2019s graphic arts group, and paint over it. Once the paint is dry, they peel the stencil off and apply the topcoat, which cures in about four hours, Bradley said.<\/p>\n

The facilities team has approached the enormous task of marking all of FRCE\u2019s industrial areas by breaking it down into sections, and has already completed four out of a total of seven. The results of the effort have been clear to members of both the safety and facilities teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve gotten feedback from employees and they say they like the new system, because it\u2019s no longer just a sign on the wall that becomes wallpaper when you see it every day,\u201d said Lead Safety Specialist Brian Pounders. \u201cThis is bright, it’s very easy to see and it helps them remember what PPE to wear when they walk into the shops.\u201d<\/p>\n

Owens said the simplified pictograms help explain things clearly, and also eliminate many potential obstacles to communication, including language or cultural barriers. Cundiff said the pictograms used in the markings were chosen with this in mind, and Bradley agreed that the universal nature of the new PPE markings was one of its biggest benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new PPE markings come in line with what you\u2019re seeing globally when it comes to safety systems, where they\u2019ve gone to pictograms for immediate notification of hazards,\u201d he said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just for industrial facilities, but it certainly makes sense here at FRC East. It\u2019s definitely clarified some grey areas, and has put the command in line with global and industry best practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, the most important aspect of the new PPE marking system is that is helps keep employees safe, which helps the command accomplish its mission more effectively and efficiently, Owens explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a significant decline in workplace injuries over the past 10 years and, at this point in 2023, we\u2019re tracking lower, on average, than last year or the year before,\u201d Owens said. \u201cUsing proper PPE has certainly helped contribute to that reduction in injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployee safety is a self-serving initiative,\u201d he continued. \u201cInjuries equate to lost workdays for the command, so fewer injuries mean more days worked in support of our nation\u2019s warfighters. When we look at our numbers, it\u2019s clear that what we\u2019re doing is working. This new marking system will only enhance that effort and provide additional support to the successful safety management system at FRC East.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In industrial environments like those at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE), the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to workforce safety. From basic PPE like safety glasses and earplugs to more advanced equipment like respirators, each piece helps minimize an employee\u2019s exposure to potential hazards associated with the maintenance, repair and overhaul […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22252,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22250\/revisions\/22252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}