The Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA) members are the Industry’s leading suppliers of fixed protective guarding products designed to protect personnel, equipment, and inventory in industrial facilities.
Mission: ProGMA promotes safety, security, and guarding for people, products, and facilities. ProGMA educates about protective barrier and guarding solutions through industry standards and best practices.
Vision: To be the recognized authority for the best practices, standards, and applications of protective barrier and guarding solutions for industrial facilities.
Protective Guarding is a fixed barrier or device, used in manufacturing, distribution, and other industrial facilities to protect personnel, equipment, and inventory from hazards present in the workplace. Protective Guarding items range from fixed objects installed around articulating equipment, machinery, or material storage areas such as safety fence, netting, guard rail, and bollards to specialized switches designed to stop machine operation as well as safeguarding through visual or auditory aids.
Protective Guarding Manufacturing Association member companies meet regularly to review, discuss, and revise the standards for design and performance of protective guarding products used in the material handling industry. ProGMA member companies are committed to the development, maintenance, and publishing of industry standard specifications for these systems. ProGMA programs include:
Disaster Avoidance
You have undoubtedly seen at least one of the extraordinary videos that come up when searching “Pallet rack collapse” or “Forklift and rack accident” on the internet; entire rows of storage rack and their contents spread in every direction causing injuries/fatalities and costly damage to product and facilities. They interrupt the operation for days, maybe weeks. Can you imagine if in those videos, the structure included an elevated work platform with additional personnel and more products above?
Similar accidents cost global distribution and manufacturing companies billions per year. There may be things you were not even aware are hazards in your facility. The Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA) represents established safeguarding manufacturers with proven solutions that are “Safer by Design”.
ProGMA has created this webinar to ensure you have the correct guarding in place from top to bottom of your elevated work platforms and vertical storage systems so you don’t end up as a statistic… or a YouTube sensation.
View the webinar
Obstacles to Safety / Observations from the Outside
Paul Sarafini, an industrial health and safety professional with over 20 years of experience offers the perspective of an industry professional who sees first-hand what motivates users to invest in guarding safety – and what factors cause them to table or delay those investments. This presentation speaks to the challenges and opportunities companies face when trying to motivate reluctant users to understand the cost of non-compliance, to meet their obligations to employees and visitors.
Paul spent 13 years at Integrated Loss Control, Inc. and the past 8 at the University of Minnesota as the Occupational Health & Safety Compliance Specialist. He has created safety and health programs for clients in a wide variety of industries. Paul has conducted administrative program reviews, hazard recognition inspections, program development and employee/supervisor training. Paul is EPA-authorized for Worker Protection Standard training and OSHA-authorized as an Outreach Trainer.
Latest ProGMA Video Highlights Loading Dock Hazards
The latest video titled, 'Prevent Accidents and Injuries Near Loading Docks / Doors', focuses on the busiest and most dangerous area of a facility.
ProGMA Releases New Videos on Protective Guarding
The Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA), a product group within trade association MHI, has added new videos to it’s series of educational videos about the importance of protective guarding products in the material handling industry.
ProGMA Launches Educational Video Series About Protective Guarding
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OSHA Announces Changes to Penalty Structure
Staring August 2, 2016 all OSHA penalties (fines) will increase by 78%.
Rachel Wolter, Western Illinois University
The Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association Honor Scholarship for the 2020/2021 academic term has been awarded to Rachel Wolter, a rising senior at Western Illinois University.
Rachel is pursuing a Supply Chain Management degree. She is Treasurer of the Student Government Association and President of the Western Illinois University Women in Business organization. She actual won the ProGMA Honor Scholarship last year. Rachel has interned at Phibro Animal Health Corporation where she has worked with the logistics of the company, tracked weekly metrics of shipments and freight and purchasing inventory for the warehouses. Rachel attended the MHI Annual Conference last year, and she plans to enter the material handling or supply chain workforce after graduation.
Anna Harreveld
aharreveld[at]mhi[dot]org
704-676-1190
Chair
Aaron Conway
Mezzanine Safeti-Gates, Inc.
Vice Chair
Ray Niemeyer
SpaceGuard Products, Inc.
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