PPE Vending Machines Save Aluminum Company $500K Per Year
Our client, an extruded aluminum and renewable energy company operating one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world, had a critical need for personal protective equipment.
Over the past 3+ years, Stauffer Safety has implemented a PPE vending machine program with the client, delivering over $500K in savings per year across 8 extrusion sites. The success of the program at their largest US location in Pennsylvania, successfully demonstrated the value of PPE vending.
Challenge Summary:
Disorganized PPE Distribution Weakens Productivity and Safety
The facility in Pennsylvania was storing all PPE in a central storeroom, disconnected from the rest of the plant. Managers traveled at least 15 minutes to the storeroom each shift to gather bulk PPE supply for their teams, then 15 minutes back to their area to distribute it.
Many of these managers were not safety experts, yet served as gatekeepers for safety equipment, responsible for ensuring that everyone used the right PPE for their job for the right duration of time.
The situation often turned into a free-for-all, with employees grabbing the PPE they wanted with no record of which employee used which PPE in which location. There was no system of accountability, an immeasurable amount of waste, and higher safety risks for employees who may not have chosen the right PPE on their own.
Stauffer’s Approach:
PPE Vending Machines Offer Higher Safety, Less Waste
The client partnered with our Stauffer team to assess their facility’s specific equipment, service, and PPE needs based on historical volumes at each part of the facility.
Our recommended service program included details about how many PPE vending machines should be placed in which locations, which pieces of PPE each should carry, and how many weeks of inventory the client should have on hand to ensure steady supply.
With the new vending machines, employees use their existing badges to access PPE. The machine vends only the correct PPE for that employee and maintains a record of who used which items and when. This information provides insights to help the client improve safety, reduce PPE waste, and better forecast inventory needs.
