SEKISUI Voltek Awarded for Safety Improvements Made

Coldwater, MI — SEKISUI Voltek, manufacturer of Volara® foam, announced today they received an award, from parent company SEKISUI CHEMICAL, for the safety improvements made in their Coldwater facility. The award evaluated challenges, and the processes implemented, that changed the status quo and received good results on a highly difficult, novel and sustainable strategy.

As a result, the Voltek team created an initiative to prevent accidents caused by caught-between and caught-in points, otherwise known as pinch points, throughout the plant. Moving machine parts have the potential to cause workplace injuries, such as crushed fingers or hands, amputation and even death. Common causes for pinch point accidents are; reaching into areas with moving parts, lack of attention to location of hands/feet, articles of clothing or hair becoming tangled, and lack of safety guards.

The Voltek team evaluated equipment and areas within the plant with higher risk for pinch point injuries. Ultimately, light curtains that shut the machine down if the curtain is broken were installed, along with other machine guards preventing the employee from accessing areas with moving parts that could cause injury.

“The focus on safety is our top priority. We want each of our employees to go home at the end of each shift without injury. It’s an ongoing effort, and we strive to keep it top of mind in everything we do” said Don Ostrander, Environmental, and Health & Safety Manager at SEKISUI Voltek.

To learn more about SEKISUI Voltek and their closed-cell, cross-linked foam products, visit www.sekisuivoltek.com or call (833) 517-1627.