BPA's Safety Committee. Team members from left to right. Back Row: Jacob Juhase, Taylor Dunn, and Bill Blankenship. Middle Row: Jim Brusca, Bronson Tuma, and Nate Johnson. Front Row: Kali Bunker. Missing from the image are Todd Foster and Carlos Rivas.
In this article, you’ll discover:
At BluePrint Automation (BPA), we try to take a safety-first approach to everything we do. In busy manufacturing environments, mechanical, electrical, and reach-in hazards are an everyday reality. That’s why we design our case packers, robotic systems, and secondary packaging equipment with robust safety features, like machine guarding and advanced control systems, to help protect operators and reduce risk. We also conduct comprehensive risk assessments to give our customers added assurance and ensure full compliance with safety standards.
While we've always built safe equipment, we realized our internal safety operations needed a renewed focus. Significant company growth, a move into a new facility, and a fire in our paint shop created an urgent need to strengthen our safety protocols and protect our growing team.
As September is National Preparedness Month, we want to share the improvements we've made in our U.S. operations to foster a stronger safety culture. We'll highlight specific changes our Safety Committee implemented and how we've improved day-to-day operations while minimizing machine and operator risks. We hope our story inspires you to re-evaluate safety in your own workplace.
We've implemented specific updates that have made a direct impact on our employees' daily lives and well-being. These changes weren't just about compliance; they were about showing our team that their safety and comfort are top priorities. Our internal safety team helped guide these efforts.
The Safety Committee includes both experienced members and new employees, with a representative from every department. This structure allows the team to combine long-standing knowledge with fresh perspectives to identify and address safety issues.
It's a true team effort where members are encouraged to give feedback and hold leaders accountable, ensuring everyone has the support needed to maintain a safe workplace. Working together, we made the following improvements:
BPA has always had a safety shoe program, but it was a burden for employees who had to pay out-of-pocket and wait for reimbursement. We've since partnered with Lehigh Footwear to create a direct billing system that provides a yearly allowance, so employees never have to worry about the cost. Shipping is also free, and employees always know their balance to plan ahead.
Our partnership makes it easy for our team to get OSHA-compliant footwear that’s critical for their safety, including EH-rated and steel-toed shoes for our electrical and fabrication teams. The program even includes a 60-day trial period, giving employees time to ensure their shoes are the perfect fit.
Foot care plays a vital role in overall wellness, and we’re proud to offer this service to support our team’s health and safety.
To improve navigation and reduce accidents, we’ve put clearly marked walkways throughout our facility. This is a standard practice to help prevent trips and collisions while improving the flow of foot traffic for everyone’s safety in an often tight environment.
Our commitment to safety also includes emergency preparedness. We’ve reviewed and updated all safety stations and signage, bringing equipment like eye wash stations up to the latest OSHA standards for full compliance and readiness.
Beyond compliance, we also focused on enhancing our emergency response capabilities. We installed new storm shelter signs and held training to ensure every team member knows what to do in case of an emergency. These updates have made us safer and better able to respond and adapt.
At BPA, we believe that safety is a cultural mindset that extends into our employees' daily lives. We highlight relevant safety topics each month, providing information that can be applied both on the job and in employees' homes for the well-being of their families and themselves.
For example, the theme for this year’s National Preparedness Month is “preparedness starts at home.” Our teams learned how to create a family communication strategy, assemble emergency kits, and find local resources to prepare for any unexpected event.
BPA also participated in National Safe & Sound Week in August. We conducted a company-wide fire drill, which was monitored by the Safety Committee. We also discussed back-to-school safety, reminding everyone to be extra cautious around school buses and children walking to school.
Our new initiatives have received positive feedback from employees and other stakeholders. Our floor teams have appreciated the ease of the enhanced shoe program and are regularly using the new walkways. Customers and visitors have also benefited, as we now provide them with safety shoe covers during their Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) to ensure they are protected on the shop floor.
Beyond the positive feedback and strong team support, we remain committed to continuous improvement, ensuring our safety initiatives evolve with new ideas and perspectives from our growing team. We use several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure our success:
For any business looking to improve its safety culture, our biggest piece of advice is that safety is a mindset. It's more than a list of rules or warning signs; it's about making a commitment to the well-being of every person and incorporating that commitment into every part of your operations.
Our success came from identifying small changes that made a big impact and gaining buy-in from the entire team. As we look ahead to 2026, we’re excited to build on these lessons with new initiatives that keep our teams even safer.
For more information on our machine safety features and how to protect your workforce, contact us today.