MHI launches safety initiative to protect workers and equipment

Material handling companies from around the industry joined forces at the ProMat trade show this week to launch the Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA), an effort to boost safety and security among personnel, equipment, and inventory in industrial facilities.

Hosted by MHI, the group includes suppliers of fixed protective guarding products who will collaborate to promote the general safety and health of people working in the vicinity of mechanical equipment and in material storage environments.

Potential solutions include netting to keep pallets from falling off racks, steel or plastic bollards to protect facilities from collisions, and guards around machines to prevent impacts by lift trucks and other industrial equipment, said Aaron Conway, a founding member of the group and president of Mezzanine Safeti-Gates. His company supplies products that secure the ledges of pallet drop areas on mezzanines, elevated work platforms, and rack-supported pick modules.

Other members of the new group include A-Safe USA, Boplan USA, Carron Net, Cherry's Industrial Equipment, Damotech, Husky Rack & Wire, InCord, Industrial Netting, Sick, SpaceGuard Products, Steel King Industries, Troax, VISIPLAS, Wildeck, and WireCrafters.

ProGMA plans to develop and publish industry standard specifications for best practices with protective barrier and guarding equipment for industrial facilities.