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From preventing accidents to reducing occupational noise level exposure to learning how to store and handle material properly, safety is something personnel at NTN Bower take seriously. Last week, 26 Western Illinois University students were able to see just how seriously NTN Bower approaches safety, when they toured the manufacturer's nearly one million square-foot plant in Macomb.
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WIU Students Tour NTN Bower's Macomb Plant to Observe Safety in Practice

November 6, 2015

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MACOMB, IL — From preventing accidents to reducing occupational noise level exposure to learning how to store and handle material properly, safety is something employees at NTN Bower take seriously. Last week, 26 Western Illinois University students were able to see just how seriously NTN Bower approaches safety, when they toured the manufacturer's nearly one million square-foot plant in Macomb.

Students in WIU Department of Health Sciences and Social Work Professor Fetene Gebrewold's Environmental and Occupational Safety (EOS) 377 course learned about the many safety considerations necessary in a manufacturing environment during the class field trip. Sarah Griffin (Wheaton, IL) said the opportunity to hear about and observe some of the precautions present at NTN Bower's Macomb facility (which produces various types of bearings for the agriculture, construction and automotive industries) demonstrated the importance of occupational safety goals.

"We saw many different types of machines and how the employees there have to function around all these moving parts without anything going wrong. I was impressed we heard about the plant's safety goals and plans through a presentation, and then, we actually got to see some of the safety measures they use in practice," noted Griffin, a junior recreation, park and tourism administration (RPTA) major. "When I graduate, I would like to be a safety manager for some kind of aquatic facility, so I will be dealing with a lot of different safety issues that have to do with water and first aid and that kind of thing. This was a great way to see how safety is practiced out in the field."

According to Gebrewold, the EOS 377 course—which enables students to earn Occupational and Health Safety Administration (OSHA) 30-hour general industry certification credentials for a minimal $5 extra fee—covers the fundamentals of workplace safety, including work in permit-required confined spaces, as well as hazardous-waste regulations, industrial hygiene requirements, workplace violence and accident causation theories.

"I think it is cool we can get OSHA certified from this class and we are given these opportunities to go to other facilities to understand the hands-on approach, as to the 'why' behind what we are studying, and that our learning is not just confined to the classroom," Griffin added.

Jerry Keppler (Decatur, IL), a senior law enforcement and justice administration (LEJA) major, said although he has a construction background and has been exposed to OSHA safety requirements before, the tour of NTN Bower's facility provided him with a refresher and reminded him about the importance of safety practices in any work environment.

"I noticed how the cages around almost any type of moving part—machines I wouldn't think that even need it," he noted. "It shows they take safety really seriously. I also noticed how the walkways are all marked bright yellow."

Dylan Shields (Marseilles, IL), also a senior LEJA major, agreed the field trip reinforced the significance of having workplace safety plans and procedures in place.

"About everywhere you turned in the NTN Bower plant it was a constant reminder of 'safety first.' There were exits everywhere I looked, and I thought, 'If a fire broke out, you could get out in a manner of seconds, really,'" Shields noted.

Both Keppler and Shields are minoring in homeland security and said they think the subject matter in the EOS 377 class has provided them with important perspective in regard to workplace safety practices.

"In this class, and even during our tour, we heard about similar safety measures we hear about in our some of LEJA classes. It's just kind of another way to learn about that information and be able to take that with you," Keppler added.

For more information about the EOS 377 course and the OSHA certification, contact Gebrewold at (309) 298-1736 or via email at F-Gebrewold@wiu.edu.

Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
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