Thoughts on PPE vending machines?

[u/Legitimate_Cattle208]

I only worked at one plant with a vending machine which was seldom used and riddled with technical difficulties - granted this was 8 years ago, I’m sure the technology has improved since.

Curious if others have these onsite and how they work? I’ve always been intrigued by the concept.

[u/Docturdu]

Only works when the supplier stocks it everyday i.e grainger, fastenal. Works great for tracking ppe usage and keeping costs down.

[u/AFireinthebelly → u/Docturdu]

This is the correct answer.

[u/shipwrecked_soul]

Absolutely love working with Grainger and their vending service. Vending machines are supplied at no cost (at least for my program) and they would come in twice a week, once to check on stocks, and the other to restock the inventory. They always keep extra stock on hand, give you keys, and show you how to restock in the event items are depleted before the restock.

[u/sarcasmsmarcasm]

We loved it so much at one plant,one of my maintenance techs acquired some old vending machines and retrofits it using raspberry pi computers and put all the small consumables (sensors, switches and the like) in one to.track them and prevent off-shift maintenance guys from.wasting time trying to find things. It also helped keep them from putting the parts in their toolboxes so they always had one (and no one else did). Vending machines are valuable in these situations.

[u/McWafflestein]

Love them. Very familiar with Totsl Safety and the vending machines they utilize. Love the ability to track what sells and what doesnt, which areas and which employees grab the most.

[u/[deleted]]

My experience is they are great. There are a lot of good vendors out there that will stock and manage them. Grainger, fastenal, MSC, Cintas.

Huge market out there. Just make sure they are stocking compliant PPE with your program

[u/HaIfsquatch]

I put 2 at our location. We love them. It's important to have them stocked depending on the usage so having great communication with your PPE vendor is important. Overall, several times better than what we had before.

[u/deadscalper1262]

I really like them because it makes PPE readily available. Example, if someone scratches their safety glasses, they can easily get a new pair instead of having to track down the safety guy. People are more likely to use their PPE if its easy to obtain.

Also, because it keeps track of what people are using, we can learn what is and isn't working. Say people in a certain department are getting a new pair of gloves once a week, maybe we need to find them different gloves that fit their job duties better.

We use the fastenal machines at a lot our sites. I've never personally had an issue. They stock a majority of the items but we have an extra stock of gloves and vests that we can put in the machines ourselves if the machine runs out before a restock.

[u/Legitimate_Cattle208 → u/deadscalper1262]

Very cool. Is all PPE distributed through the machines or is it just standard stock items that are used frequently?

[u/deadscalper1262 → u/Legitimate_Cattle208]

Mostly just standard stock items. Gloves, vests, safety glasses, ear muffs, rolls of LOTOTO tags, hard hats sweat liners, stuff like that. Stuff like LOTOTO locks, hard hats, fall harnesses, and other stuff that should last a long time needs to be acquired through the safety lead.

[u/BillN9n]

Yes but you need to ensure the supplier understands the expectation of restock or the contract gets cut.

[u/Lettuce_bee_free_end]

I've seen dept of water use systems to track that work. Industrial shipyard too! 

[u/kwkcardinal]

We use them. Not bad really. High up from t cost, but we go through a lot of ppe anyway. Paid for themselves in a few months by cutting g costs, and freed up the safety and supervisors.

[u/Coloradohiker91]

I loved it when I had one. I used Fastenal and it was amazing. I set up days between new issue for PPE or if there was a reason supervisors had unlimited access.

[u/Ok_Software2677]

Love the PPE vending machines. Also, another thing in addition to PPE that you can get is the ability to check out equipment. I like both Grainger and Fastenal, but Fastenal gave me the ability to stock equipment that could be checked out and checked back in. This is a great option for things like air monitoring equipment and power tools that might be on the more expensive side. Yes, the whole program is dependent on the supplier keeping your stuff stocked.