INDIANAPOLIS—The Association for Rubber Products Manufacturers has been busy benchmarking multiple industries.
The firm's Power Transmission Belt Technical Committee recently met with the Mechanical Power Transmission Association to exchange information regarding their respective standards and ISO activities.
And on the workplace front, ARPM recently conducted a survey analyzing information on drug policies in manufacturing facilities.
Its joint meeting with MPTA has occurred annually for more than six years. ARPM member companies in attendance included Gates Corp., Timken Group, Megadyne America L.L.C., ContiTech A.G., MBL (USA) Corp. and HBD Thermoid Inc.
In addition to discussing ISO issues, the ARPM team reviewed various ARPM standards. Per ISO requirements, the Power Transmission Belt Publication technical standards are reviewed every five years in order to determine if revisions are required to keep information current and relevant for the marketplace, according to the ARPM.
The revised Power Transmission Belt Publications and more than 100 other technical standards are available for purchase at arpminc.org.
"These standards are provided in cooperation with the member companies of the MPTA," ARPM Managing Director Letha Keslar said in a statement. "We could not lead our industry without the commitment of our member companies and our relationships with other industry-leading associations such as MPTA."
ARPM's recently released Drugs in the Workplace Report spans 189-pages, including an analysis of inputs from over 110 U.S. manufacturers in regards to their organization's drug policies. Topics highlighted include legality of marijuana, type of testing conducted, drugs screened during testing, accident documentation, company EAPs and adaptations due to the current opioid crisis.
Along with an analysis of findings, the report includes 48 unique drug policies submitted by manufacturers. ARPM said these policies have been scrubbed of company-identifying information and serve as a benchmark and inspiration for those organizations looking to update, improve or implement a drug policy in their establishment.
The report also is available at arpminc.org.
"With the differing laws on legal marijuana, as well as the concern about opioids in the U.S. today, this report could not be timelier," Keslar said. "Our hope is that it may provide some guidance to our members and the industry looking to improve their own policies and access what other manufacturers are doing nationwide."
Established in 2010, ARPM is a trade association managed by rubber business leaders and includes more than 90 member companies.