Delivery performance commitment for water filters OEM manufacturers - Fire safety precautions

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.

 

1.Fire at a water purifier factory in Taichung

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.

 

 

2.Fire safety regulations are becoming much stricter.

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.

 

1.Safety measures for mobile tools prone to spontaneous combustion

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.

 

2.Strictly control improper use of extension cords

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.

3.Use power cords that meet safety standards

The electrical wiring in the factory is regulated before subcontracting, and the use of power cords requires products with the correct markings.

4.Entrust licensed electricians to maintain all electrical equipment in the factory

In daily work, if there are electrical faults or power demand increasing, Easywell Company insists that subcontractors must hold a government-approved electrician license.

5.Purchase sufficient fire insurance annually

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.

6.Inspector checks important power usage daily

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.

 

7.Disseminating fire prevention precautions regularly.

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.

 

8.Conduct fire drills annually

Fire drills are an important issue for us, and we require every partner to use fire extinguishers and high-pressure fire hoses.

9.According to the law, licensed electrical technicians are hired every year to inspect all high and low voltage electrical circuits and equipment.

10.The entire plant is equipped with smoke detectors and automatic smoke exhaust devices in compliance with the law.

11.Fire hydrants and fire hoses are installed in compliance with the law throughout the plant.

12.Additional automatic fire sprinkler systems are installed.

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.

 

 

13.More comprehensive fire extinguishers and automatic power outage lighting equipment are installed than required by law.

 

14.Fire broadcasting system equipment is installed in compliance with the law.

 

15.Connect the fire broadcasting system to the security service center.

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.

 

16.Insist on using fire-resistant building materials.

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:

1. All wall partitions use calcium silicate boards.
2. The ceiling is made of lightweight steel structure and calcium silicate board.

 

17.The generator and fire pump are installed in compliance with the law.

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.

 

18.No smoking is allowed throughout the plant.

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.

 

19.Important files are regularly backed up.

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.

 

5.If there is a fire, how does Easywell protect the rights and interests of its customers?

 

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:

1. First, we will convene a meeting of all senior executives to discuss follow-up matters immediately after extinguishing the fire.
2. Check if there are any injuries among the staff? What is the extent of the injuries? Do they need medical attention?
3. Take stock of the extent of the damage.
4. Check the shortage of raw materials needed to resume work.
5. Is it possible to resume work? How long will it take?
6. nform all employees that we will resume work and provide additional compensation to those who help out at the fire scene.
7. Reach a consensus with work partners on how to pay salaries during the time when work cannot be resumed, in order to stabilize their minds.
8. Determine if it is necessary to prepare materials in advance.
9. If materials need to be prepared, use backup ERP inventory software information to decide on emergency procurement of materials and spare parts that are in short supply due to the fire.

 

External procedures:

1. Inform the bank of the cause and situation of the fire, and request that they do not withdraw any funds.
2. Inform partners of the fire situation, explain the financial stability of Easywell Company, and request their continued support.
3. Inform all customers and provide detailed information on the fire situation, including how long it will take to resume production and delivery times.
4. Explain how the deposit paid by customers to Easywell will be kept until the goods are shipped.
5. If customers choose not to wait and decide to transfer their orders to other companies, Easywell will unconditionally refund the deposit to the relevant customers.
6. If customers choose not to wait for Easywell to resume work, and cannot find a comparable supplier for the time being, Easywell will be responsible for introducing the customer to a peer who can produce the same products.

 

6. Conclusion

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 25 2023

 

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