Ford Motor Company's Lima (Ohio) Engine Plant has become one of the few U.S. major automotive powertrain facilities in which workers no longer have to wear ear plugs.
The plant passed an outside audit last month that showed noise throughout the facility was below levels at which Ford and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health require hearing protection.
Lima joins Cleveland Engine No. 1 as the only Ford powertrain plants in North America to enjoy hearing protection-free status.
"It's a step forward in making Lima Engine a better place to work," said Lima engine plant manager Adrian Price. "Plus, there is a safety advantage because employees are better able to hear what's going on around them, like vehicles approaching."
"It's about the health and safety of our employees," said Dan Hinegardner, chairman, United Auto Workers Local 1219. "We wouldn't let this happen unless we were sure that there wouldn't be any long-term hearing issues. This is just another example of Lima Engine Plant leading the way in the ever-changing face of automotive manufacturing in America."
New, quieter equipment to help assemble the Duratec 35 engine contributes to lower noise levels in the plant. Powertrain's Core Engineering group and Lima plant employees helped, too, re-engineering a carryover crankshaft line and erecting sound baffles above it.
"The people who work on that line tell me that there is a dramatic reduction in noise," said Price. "It took a lot of work, and the team did a great job."
A goal of Ford Powertrain is for all U.S. facilities to be hearing-protection free. A number of other plants are expected to achieve the distinction in the near future.
