Watching Out for One Another

Minimizing the Risk of Injury

BERLIN | GERMANY

A new hydraulic drive system developed jointly with Bosch Rexroth is greatly improving the safety of employees who operate rolling mills and reducing energy consumption in the bargain. Under the direction of Marek Semrau, Global Process Engineer for Components at the Berlin plant and other sites, the team has succeeded in bringing the braking distance almost to zero for open rolling mills. The roller virtually comes to a hard stop. This improvement massively reduces one of the greatest safety risks in dealing with rollers. FST’s “We all take care” jury selected the Components Division project to represent the company in the overall Freudenberg competition. The project took on all its competitors in June and came in first.

Anyone who has ever cranked pasta dough through a noodle-maker knows the principle behind rollers. Rubber compounds are also rolled to transform them into a homogeneous mass. This is important for the quality of the material. At FST’s mixing plant in Berlin, two counter-rotating rollers turn at speeds of up to 35 meters (115 feet) per minute. When they are switched off, it takes a moment for them to actually come to a stop. In an emergency, the faster, the better – consider a car being braked hard to avoid a collision. The faster the rollers stop turning, the lower the risk and the severity of any injury.

“The standard for this kind of installation allows a so-called braking angle of 60 degrees at most. The rotation metric can be expressed as a distance for equipment of this kind,” Semrau explained. “The roller is allowed to continue running a maximum of 288 millimeters after its operation is paused. We considered that insufficient, so we launched a joint project in Berlin with drive system manufacturer Bosch Rexroth to reduce the current braking angle significantly once again. The DGUV [German Social Accident Insurance] already requires less than 45 degrees, and in some cases we can already achieve less than 25 degrees. But here the gearbox runs up against the limits of its capacity.” At 25 degrees, the roller comes to an emergency stop after a little less than 120 millimeters, he pointed out.

After putting their heads together and doing intensive development work, the engineers devised a new hydraulic drive system for rolling installations. It comes in at less than 5 degrees at full speed – a figure that no one thought possible at the outset. That corresponds to a braking distance of 24 millimeters. Think about it: from 60 to 5 degrees. The reduction has made a huge improvement in safety for the people working at the rolling mill.

“The new drive system has advantages beyond improved job safety: It is significantly smaller and more compact, and weighs just 300 kilograms (661 pounds),” Semrau said. “That is quite an improvement over the old electromechanical drives, which weighed 6 tons, or the old hydraulic drives, which required a separate pump cabinet. It also consumes far less energy than the previous hydraulic drives. In concrete terms, we are cutting the ­energy use by about 40 percent.”

In June, this “We all take care!” project represented FST in the overall ­Freudenberg competition and took First Place.

The new safety technology will be used worldwide. Now that the Berlin plant has been upgraded as part of the project, the Morinda manufacturing plant in India is first in line to get the improved rolling mill equipment. Oberwihl is next.

Changing Over Safely

Langres | France

When a valve-gate cold runner is dismantled and changed over, setters have to grapple with a lot of weight. A tool of this kind weighs up to 370 kilograms (815 pounds). Until now, it has been hard to handle without a forklift or a lift truck.

A risk evaluation pointed to some safety concerns regarding the set-up process when a new injection molding technology was introduced at the Lead Center Engine in Langres, France, in 2021. The technology utilizes a so-called Rhapsody valve-gate cold runner. It weighs 370 kilograms (815 pounds), and it is hard to handle. In addition, a forklift and driver have to be available for each set-up.

So an interdisciplinary team in Langres began looking for a way to minimize risks and ban forklifts from the production area. In a workshop, the team started developing potential improvements, and an idea was born: an easy-to-operate, highly adjustable trolley adapted for the new injection molding machines. The trolley was built and tested immediately, and its fairly minor weaknesses were promptly identified and fixed. The team members then came up with new work instructions and trained the employees appropriately.

A little later, the new trolley was available for use in the production area, and a second one soon followed. The team also built shelving to store all valve-gate cold ­runners.

With the use of standardized trolleys, 18 Rhapsody machines can be set up with 21 different valve gate cold runners. Dedicated cold runners are used for each item number. The setters are no longer dependent on a forklift and can handle the set-up process by themselves.

There have been no accidents or near-accidents in the high-volume production area since the trolleys were introduced. Improved safety is just one benefit: With the new trolleys, a press can be set up for a new item in just 40 minutes instead of the previous 90 minutes. Based on 10 set-ups per week, the team now has more than 400 hours of additional production capacity available per year.

Caution: Forklifts!

Brzostek-Snieciska | POLAND

Between 2018 and 2023, there were eight near-accidents involving forklifts and pedestrians at intersections in the production area at the Partner Production Elastomeric Gaskets facility in Brzostek-Snieciska. Since the plant will be expanding considerably in coming years, even more staff will be working on the shopfloor. That will bring more pedestrian traffic along the factory’s transport routes. To increase the safety of all employees, a cross-functional team developed a plan to reduce the risk of accidents.

Visual cues on the floor now indicate potential risks – the warning signal expires five seconds after a forklift or other vehicle passes by. Then the lane can again be used safely. Sensors on the vehicles trigger alerts about oncoming vehicles and pedestrians. One of the critical points is an exit door that opens directly onto the transport route on the shopfloor. Visibility is extremely limited there. There is also a passage between two halls. Only pedestrians use the passage, but it does open directly onto the traffic lane. Yet another passage connects two production areas and leads to the transport route. Aside from pedestrian traffic, it has forklifts and vehicles on their milk runs moving through it.

The investments in the safety system and the installation of components came to about 3,500 euros. Improvements in employee safety are always a good investment.

Everyone’s a Safety Star

Morristown | USA

The STAR team at the Competence Center Special Sealing Automotive in the U.S. state of Indiana uses a “Safety Audit Board” to display the status of its current safety programs. The board keeps the project’s participants and other staff up-to-date about these efforts, promoting a sense of responsibility and sensitivity to safety issues.

Since 2008, the acronym STAR has been shorthand for “Safety Team Acting Responsibly” at Morristown. Each shift has a team of volunteers dedicated to job safety, involving as many employees as possible in the process. “Zero accidents” is their rallying cry. The information board is designed to further promote the plant’s safety culture and involve everyone systematically. The program’s core philosophy: “The goal is for team members to take part in safety discussions, share observations, and make suggestions for improvements on a regular basis.”

Part of the mission is to make safety information and updates easily accessible and comprehensible to all team members and staff using the Safety Audit Board. Visually appealing, easy to understand, practical to use – the board is an understandable, handy medium for daily use.

It is also designed to simplify the process of communicating safety information while making it easier for team members and employees to stay current on safety standards. Devising suitable safety measures is part of everyone’s mission as well. The overarching goal is to nurture a sense of responsibility among all team members and staff, and the Safety Audit Board is ­facilitating this.

In its structure and appearance, the display picks up elements from the communication boards that have been used successfully in quality management at the plant. The use of colors and a clear layout promote a quick grasp of the information. For example, at the start of each month, the entire board is set back to red. That color highlights the many outstanding tasks and measures that will have to be carried out as part of the initiative.

All Eyes on Energy Costs

Kecskemét | Hungary

Like many companies in ­Europe, the Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) plant in ­Kecskemét, Hungary, is challenged by high energy costs. A team at the facility is using a system operating the ISO 50001 standard and known as submetering to measure and analyze these expenses, making it possible to save ­energy with targeted improvement projects.

At the Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) facility in Hungary as well as other sites, energy costs make up a substantial share of overall expenditures. Those costs have also dramatically risen in recent years. So from both an economic and an ecological standpoint, it makes sense to keep the use of electricity low and potentially identify energy guzzlers – and it is imperative as well. These efforts require structured data collection and calibrated measurement systems. After all, customers increasingly require their suppliers to be environmentally sensitive and reduce their energy use and CO2 footprints. The Hungarian government has also provided clear guidelines: The country intends to be independent of energy imports long-term. So it is essential to expand electrification and improve energy efficiency.

First of all, it takes a valid database to make improvements and to measure them. At Kecskemét, the management turned to a system known as submetering to do this. It involves the automated capture of energy consumption data. The company is already recording values at 46 different stations, and the number is rising. The facility records the data using its own web interface, which provides transparency and automatically creates reports for any period – per day, per week, per month or per year. Consumption analyses are based on these measurements. Success requires the continuous monitoring of energy consumption.

To drive down consumption, and not just measure it, it is essential to identify the key energy guzzlers, with the goal of replacing them or improving their efficiency. If an alert signals excess consumption, the possible errors can be analyzed using the database. For example, the potential errors might include leaks or a machine malfunction. The process also supports preventive maintenance.

Aside from diverse technical improvements to reduce CO2 emissions, the management in Kecskemét is putting its faith in the human factor: Training sessions are planned to increase employees’ energy awareness. There is also an in-house newsletter and a regular quiz on sustainability.

Commuting Sustainably

PINEROLO/LUSERNA | Italy

Due to the nature of their work, many employees of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) find it impossible to work remotely. But driving to their facility every day in their personal vehicles costs money and increases their CO2 footprint. That’s why a team was formed at FST’s Luserna and Pinerolo plants to develop more sustainable ways to commute. They were supposed to be both environmentally friendly and easy on employees’ ­wallets.

The team turned to two approaches: bicycles and app-supported carpools. In one year, the employees reduced their commutes by car by 181,700 kilometers (112,903 miles), the equivalent of circumnavigating the earth four times. The reduction in the number of kilometers eliminated the emission of 23.6 tons of carbon dioxide – an amount that would fill 20 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Since 2022, employees have been able to offer or reserve ride-sharing using the Jojob app. Staff commuting to work by bike or in a carpool, instead of driving their car, receive compensation of up to 1 euro per day from FST, in the form of a voucher. Since October 2023, the project has been successfully extended to the FST plant in Genova, too.

The company is also renting two e-bikes, which employees can reserve.

Nearly 12 percent of the employees – or more than 130 people – are already sharing rides, and 5 percent are ­bicycling to work. The bicyclists are doing both their health and the environment some good.

Recycled Coolant Protects Environment

Changchun | China

CNC turning machines at the Competence Center Accumulators in Changchun use coolants that need to be replaced every three months. Until now, the coolant being discarded has been transported from the machine’s cooling station to a temporary storage area. The metal chips produced during the process remain in the chemical, but sink to the bottom after a period of storage. The coarsely cleaned fluid then goes into a tank as a hazardous material and is picked up and discarded by a specialized firm. About 25 tons of the fluid accumulate per cycle.

This process was considered too costly, unsafe and not sustainable enough. So an interdisciplinary team began looking at ways to improve it. Representatives from management and the service provider were among its members. The employees set clear goals. First of all, they wanted to minimize leakage during transport and the ­related risk of soil and groundwater contamination. Other objectives were to cut the quantity of waste by 60 tons, and reduce costs while making no additional investment.

The results have been remarkable: The specialized service provider installed a regeneration system inside the Competence Center. From that point on, it has been possible to clean and recycle the coolant from 21 CNC machines on site. The specific process works like this: The coolant is fed from the turning machine’s cooling station through a pipeline into the new installation. Liquid separated from the metal chips with spin drying is collected in a container and pumped into the new installation. Then the coolant is cleaned and recycled. After an automatic measurement and quality checks, it can be pumped back into the process and reused. During 2023 alone, the improvement has reduced the amount of waste by 60 tons and costs by nearly 15,000 euros.