It’s the Boy Scout motto, but it’s also a philosophy complementary to business profitability. What would happen at your manufacturing site if an accident or incident occurred? In addition to minimizing pain and suffering, preparedness can have a major impact on business failure, too.

Even if, say, a reliable controller has been designed to industrial standards, has good temperature ratings and has been thoroughly tested to a variety of specifications such as shock and vibration and high-voltage testing — after all of this, even the most rugged controllers would not live through some potential plant disasters, including floods and fire.

Yet while ensuring your systems are rugged enough to endure extreme conditions is important, response is also a crucial way to help mitigate disaster after it strikes.

One way we could all do a better job at saving lives and minimizing injury would be to create a better communication system for first responders. If you think about it, the NYC/DC 9/11 terrorist attacks, or the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, or the Indian Ocean Tsunami, the point becomes so clear so fast. These weren’t industrial or manufacturing lapses in judgment — but they could have been.

Those industrial professionals who work with radioactive materials, chemicals, pathogens and even food (hopefully) are trained to think and act safely 100 percent of the time. But things happen — valves burst, O-rings fail, pumps quits, pipes leak, containers break. Unthinkable! Perhaps you have contingency plans to meet these disasters-in-the-making. Excellent!

But what if someone is hurt or killed before you can even think about addressing the physical damage. The worst task facing a CEO or president is to have to explain to the killed or injured person’s family why the incident was allowed to happen. News reporters will ask damning questions and even shareholders will wonder if the disaster could have been prevented. The businesses’ reputation can take a significant hit. Who wants to be associated with negative press?

Given these potential situations, one person has challenged us to create a robust first responder system. Wireless-technology maven Andrew Seybold recommends “a common set of radios, both mobile and handheld, all identical to each other and would include all of the 700-MHz channels and first responder channels on 800 MHz. Several vendors could build these radios, but they’d require a common standard. Thus, federal, state and local first responders could use them and integrate them into their systems.”

If responders were facing a major incident, someone could program the radio remotely to a proper channel when the unit arrived on the scene. Seybold also recommends a national but regional radio system on 700-MHz spectrum and a national, private Internet IPV6 first-responder network.

To fund this system, Seybold suggests a one-time $8 tax on commercial cell phones leading to a fund of $20 billion. He adds, “I want to encourage commercial wireless operators and first responders to work together for the benefit of all.”

A Boost for Internal Training
We’re big fans of learning practical information because there’s so much to learn with all the new technology, a concept not lost on manufacturers. One way to nurture working smarter requires making training as efficient as possible.

Staffing company Adecco further notes some disturbing insights in its most recent survey: the U.S. is woefully ill-prepared to compete in an increasingly global economy, according to 56 percent of adult workers. In addition, more than three-quarters blame U.S. employers for failing to invest sufficiently to train and develop the skills needed for America’s workforce to contend with those in foreign countries.

As we noted last year:

Safety training should be designed to fit the needs of the target audience. Rather than have a standard form of safety training, first cover the fundamentals; then deal with the risks specific to the particular employee… Safety training can take on a number of different appearances — from on-the-job safety equipment training to weekend seminars to a videotape or DVD during employee orientation. Training formats may include the classroom and written instruction, video/DVD, one-on-one, or computer- and Web-based instruction. Each offers its pros and cons, and, more often than not, multi-format training is not only appropriate but also most advantageous, particularly for the younger employees.

Speaking of age differences, Adecco’s survey found a surprising divide between older and younger workers. And it might not be what you expect. Of adults 55 and older, 59 percent aren’t optimistic about America’s ability to compete on the global stage, while only 48 percent of adults ages 18 to 34 hold the same opinion.

It is always an apt time to show team members how to work smarter and do it efficiently.

Preventing, mitigating or at least being prepared for disastrous plant incidents probably justifies investing in technology and training.

Earlier:

A Battle Over Online Learning

Training a Workforce Raised on MTV & the Web

7 Suggestions for Making the Leap to E-Training