MACHINE SAFETY: IMPACT ON THE OPERATIONS OF THE AUTO PARTS AND METAL MECHANICS INDUSTRY

Abstract

Machine safety treatment based on strict compliance with the international standards created for this purpose has an impact not only on the rates of occupational accidents observed in the autoparts and steel industries in Argentina but can also have an impact on various issues such as the competitiveness of these companies.
This paper is based on two dimensions. Firstly, the regulatory dimension that considers the comparative legal framework between different industrialized countries and our country in terms of machine safety. Secondly, the dimension of the improvement, based on the study of representative cases for both the autoparts and steel industries. In both cases, considering the improvement values of the indicator used as a reference: the Hazzard Rating Number (HRN). It was tried to establish the competitive advantages and disadvantages when these companies have used the international machine safety regulatory scheme for their operations.
Furthermore, the motivations that companies have for the application of machine safety regulations in the autoparts and steel industry can be classified into 2 groups: the endogenous motivations that are generated in the organization itself and the exogenous motivations that are imposed on them by a higher hierarchical order.
The paper also presents a brief description of the methodologies that were used, and the main conclusions reached.