When entrusting products to an OEM manufacturer, production schedule control and delivery performance commitment are very important. In addition to legal constraints through contracts, we can also observe the OEM manufacturer's usual work processes to learn more cleanly whether their delivery performance commitment is reliable.
This article takes the example of a fire at an OEM manufacturer and discusses how to protect the customer's rights and interests and smoothly execute delivery performance.
Internally, they will conduct steps such as checking for casualties, extent of damage, resumption possibility, material preparation, emergency procurement, etc. Externally, they will notify the bank, subcontractors, and customers, explaining the fire situation and discussing delivery date, as well as deposit issues.
If the customer chooses to transfer orders to other parties or wait for resumption of production, the company will provide support and assume responsibility for introducing other companies which can produce same products to the customer.
Finally, the article points out that even if the profit of operating an OEM manufacturer is thin, spending on fire safety equipment is necessary, otherwise the incidence of fires will increase, affecting the interests of OEM manufacturers and customers.
Table of Contents:
1. A fire occurred at a water filter OEM manufacturer in Taichung.
2. Fire safety regulations are becoming stricter.
3. OEM manufacturers' emphasis on fire safety.
4. Inspecting Easywell's practices in fire safety.
5. How Easywell assures safeguards customers' rights and interests in case of fire?
6. Conclusion
According to a local TV news report in Taiwan, a manufacturer of water purifiers located in Taichung City suffered from a devastating fire on the night of December 1, 2022. The entire factory was engulfed in flames, causing extensive damage to the buildings, production equipment, inventory, and nearly everything else. Such an unfortunate incident is something that none of us would like to see or experience.
Thus, ensuring that the production plants of contract manufacturers are not affected by fire disasters is an issue that cannot be ignored. It is necessary to provide assurance to purchasing agents that their supply chain will not be disrupted due to a fire at the factory of manufacturers.
According to local news reports in Taiwan, in May 2022, the government revised the fire safety laws again. The fire safety regulations for factories are also relatively strict. Currently, they have been synchronized with European and American countries and have reached the same rigorous standards for inspection. At least one inspection visit is required to the factory every year.
The regulations require factories to have a fire equipment engineer who holds a "fire equipment license" or to commission a fire equipment engineering company to correspond to the government's fire equipment inspection.
3. OEM manufacturers attach importance to fire safety.
Although regulations are becoming stricter, OEM manufacturers do not give due importance to fire safety, the occurrence of a fire is unlikely to be an accident.
Whether the daily electricity usage or the equipment usage is overloaded, whether the transmission cables supplying electricity are old and need to be updated, whether aging production machines and equipment are prone to spontaneous combustion, whether extension cords and power sockets are used improperly, and whether lithium battery-powered mobile devices are charged independently, all these safety measures being implemented in daily work will affect the occurrence of fires.
4. Reviewing Easywell Company's fire safety practices
At the same time as this water filter company accident, we at Easywell Company take this opportunity to review our fire prevention and safety measures to ensure that our customers' interests are not jeopardized due to fires.
The batteries used in forklifts are typically lead-acid batteries.As we often charge them at night, we take the following preventive measures to avoid battery spontaneous combustion accidents:
1.1 Installing overload safety devices on the charging receiver to automatically cut off power supply to the forklift and charging receiver in the event of battery combustion, ensuring the first stage of safety.
1.2 Parking the forklifts outdoors to prevent indoor facilities from being affected in the event of combustion, prolonging the burning time.
1.3 Installing a suspended automatic 10-type ABC dry powder fire extinguisher on the forklift, which will automatically extinguish the fire in case of forklift combustion.
1.4 Some of transportation used by employees of Easywell Company are electric bicycles. In order to prevent the occurrence of self-ignition during charging, we locate the charging and parking electric bicycles outside, minimizing the risk of battery spontaneous combustion.
1.5 We also use safe power sockets.
When the electric bicycles are charged outside, Easywell Company proactively installs safety sockets with automatic overload protection and requires ourteam who ride electric bicycles to only plug electric bicycles into the designated safe socket.
At the workplace or employee dormitories, strictly control or prohibit them to use extension cords,This can ensure that users do not overload the cords, which may cause electrical fires due to exceeding the load between power outlets and the cords.
The electrical wiring in the factory is regulated before subcontracting, and the use of power cords requires products with the correct markings.
In daily work, if there are electrical faults or power demand increasing, Easywell Company insists that subcontractors must hold a government-approved electrician license.
This can ensure that in the event of a fire accident, the subcontractor can use the insurance payout as a fund for a quick recovery.
Every day during a 10-minute break in the morning and afternoon, and after work, a designated person inspects whether important machinery has been properly shut down to prevent accidents caused by wire combustion due to abnormal power systems when left unattended.
We require the management department to download one or more fire prevention information videos from YouTube for everyone to watch during the monthly education and training day to enhance everyone’s awareness of fire safety.
Fire drills are an important issue for us, and we require every partner to use fire extinguishers and high-pressure fire hoses.
In addition to installing fire hydrants and fire hoses in accordance with regulations, we have also installed automatic sprinkler systems on the ceiling in important working areas.
When a fire occurs, the fire alarm signal is automatically sent through the fire broadcasting system and synchronously sent a message to control center of the security service company. The on-duty security personnel will also notify the management personnel of Easywell by phone immediately and conduct on-site investigations and inform the fire department to take immediate fire-fighting actions.
In order to ensure the safety of personnel and property,Easywell Company insisted on using fire-resistant building materials when constructing and designing the plant, including the dormitories where foreign partners reside. For example:
The installation of the generator is mainly to prevent the external power supply from being destroyed by the fire source during a fire, causing a power outage, and all fire-fighting equipment that relies on electricity will be useless. The automatic power switch, known as ATS, will start the generator and automatically start the fire pump, ensuring that the fire system can operate normally during a fire.
Since its establishment, Easywell Company has strictly prohibited smoking inside the plant, with heavy penalties for violators. There are even warning signs everywhere that say, "A fine of 3,000 NTD will be imposed on guests who smoke in the plant."
Of course, we also have a designated smoking area for smokers to indulge in their habit safely.
In order to prevent the computer hardware equipment from being destroyed to ashes during a fire, resulting in the inability to recover software information after the hardware equipment is restored, we regularly back up important files and use remote backup in different locations to ensure data security.
In order to be responsible to customers, shareholders, employees, and suppliers, we have the following standard operating procedures (SOP) in case of a fire:
Internal procedures:
External procedures:
The profit of running an OEM factory is always meager, and some owners may try to cut corners on fire prevention costs to save money. To achieve perfect fire safety measures, more investment is needed than other companies, and this investment will reduce the OEM factory's budget for R&D of new products, purchasing of machinery equipment, and so on.
However, the cost of fire safety equipment and business profits are a chicken and egg problem. Without investing more in fire safety equipment, the risk of fires occurring will increase.
When a fire occurs, the OEM factory may never be able to recover. Even if it has the ability to resume operations, it takes a long time to prepare, build, and find the original team to work again. During this downtime, can the buyer tolerate the situation of no goods to sell? This once again tests the mutual understanding and tolerance of both parties.
Author:Rodger Lin May 8 2023
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