The automotive industry has a number of risks for people working in it, such as inhalation of fuels, antifreeze or carbon monoxide and falls from the same or different levels. Also, automotive plant technicians may suffer burns, eye damage, hearing damage or exposure to harmful vapors. In addition, there is a high risk of bumps, cuts and other related injuries.

For this reason, the use of personal protective equipment or PPE, such as safety gloves, is essential in this sector. This includes industrial safety equipment consisting of industrial gloves, face masks, safety helmets, goggles, boots, vest, respirators and ear muffs.

In these cases, materials specially designed for the automotive industry are used, which are cut and shock resistant. In this sense, Ansell is the best choice for its experience, as well as for the quality of the equipment it provides.

Vehicle manufacturing and assembly plants

The automotive industry plants have a number of occupational accidents to be taken into account. It is important to consider them in order to choose the industrial safety equipment that best suits each job. There is one significant fact that highlights the importance of this issue: An estimated 153 occupational accidents occur worldwide every 15 seconds, many of which take place in automotive assembly and manufacturing facilities.

In fact, this sector has a higher accident rate than other, a priori, more dangerous sectors. For each worker, 3.9 %, while other areas, such as the chemical industry or mining, register 2.4 % and 2.3 %, respectively.

Major accidents in the automotive industry

The most common cases of occupational accidents in this sector are as follows:

• Knocks: They are usually caused by elements falling on the workers.
• Falls: At different levels and with different damages.
• Cuts: They are caused by human error or deficiencies in machinery or tools.
• Crashes: These cases include, for example, collision with towing vehicles.
• Burns: With hot metals or other substances.

The danger of impact on the automotive industry

This is one of the main causes of danger in this sector. A circumstance that is not only applicable to the traditional automotive industry, but is also present in the electric car industry.

This involves a series of ailments related to the workplace, since the impacts cause various alterations of the body structures. Among the most common causes of disability are muscle aches and pains, as well as rupture or injury to tendons, ligaments, nerves or bones. In addition, there are risks to the circulatory system.

In terms of experience and capability, the automotive industry has evolved a lot in recent years. Technologies such as 3D glasses, cut-resistant gloves, haptic sensors and augmented reality (AR) displays are now being used. In general, these improvements are reshaping traditional work environments, although they are not yet fully pervasive.

As a result, the risks of impacts remain relatively high in supply chains in this area. This is precisely because of the great complexity of the processes that continue to pose security challenges. Keep in mind that automotive plants are often busy, bustling places of robot and equipment manufacturing. In addition, they contain moving machinery and thousands of workers working in collaboration.

In this sense, there is a certain risk of being hit or caught between objects. This can occur during polishing, working under vehicles and cleaning parts, where the emitted particles can affect the eyes and other parts of the body, reducing vision. In turn, doors, hoods and other parts, tools and equipment can slip or move while work is being performed.

Impact risk prevention

The prevention of occupational hazards in this area involves the implementation of a series of control, training and accident preparedness measures. These include the following:

• Education and training of employees in lifting and manual handling activities.
• Use of mechanical load shifting devices (cranes, forklifts, trolleys and hoists) to avoid awkward loads.
• Encouragement of the use of PPE.
• Rotate workers through a variety of tasks to ensure that they do not perform repetitive tasks for long periods of time.
• Risk assessments and periodic inspections.
• Preventive maintenance of the facilities.
• Development, implementation and maintenance of a prevention, safety and health plan.
• Monitoring of noise and lighting levels.
• Evacuation drills.