Case Study
4FRONT Engineered Solutions Makes EHS More Efficient with SoterAI
SoterAI streamlines the most time-consuming tasks, helping the 4Front EHS team unlock a truly proactive safety culture
The Challenge
4FRONT Engineered Solutions is a global leader in entrance solutions, providing one of the world's most comprehensive lines of entrance automation products and warehouse solutions. With over 60 years of knowledge and expertise in the industry, 4Front Engineered Solutions demonstrates the ability to understand and meet unique customer requirements across warehousing, manufacturing, and retail sectors.
Their expertise extends to designing, manufacturing, and installing entrance automation solutions tailored for manufacturing, retail, and distribution environments. 4Front is committed to superior quality across its comprehensive product line, utilizing advanced technologies such as robotic welding, plasma cutting, Autodesk Inventor, and Ansys Finite Element Analysis Software in both manufacturing and product design.
For Tim Rutkowski, Regional EHS Manager at 4FRONT, and his team, EHS work meant juggling many important tasks. They had to keep up with safety rules, make sure regulations were followed, and help build a strong safety culture. Like many EHS pros, they spent a lot of time on administrative duties, detailed analysis, and finding quick, correct information. They needed a tool to help make these jobs easier and boost their safety efforts.
To address these EHS challenges, 4Front Engineering turned to SoterAI, an innovative AI platform designed to streamline safety processes and reduce administrative burdens.
Speeding Up Policy and Procedure Writing
Writing and updating safety policies and procedures is a basic but often disliked task for EHS folks like Tim, who would rather be out on the floor. It wasn't just the writing; they also had to make sure everything was clearly laid out, covered all the bases, and met standards like ISO if needed.
SoterAI offered a much better way to start. 4Front Engineering found that the platform could give them good outlines and starting content for many policies. Tim's team could even upload their current company policies or related documents, like ANSI standards or ISO guides, and the AI would use that information to make its suggestions more relevant.
This new approach greatly reduced the busy work that usually comes with creating policies. Instead of starting with a blank document, the EHS team got a solid draft from SoterAI, letting them focus on fine-tuning the content and adding details specific to their site.
Turning Safety Into ROI
At 4FRONT's plants, employees were often handling oversized materials like 12-foot vinyl pads or assembling shelters with fixtures that no longer worked as intended. These jobs weren't heavy, but they were awkward, leading to unnecessary strain and inefficiencies.
To improve safety, efficiency, and comfort in the work area, 4Front Engineered Solutions utilizes dock seals, dock lights, trailer restraints, impactable dock doors, and HVLS fans. Epic Fans and HVLS fans from 4Front Engineered Solutions help reduce hot spots, tackle condensation, and improve airflow and energy savings in facilities.
To tackle these issues, the team began recording quick two-minute videos of shop floor tasks and uploading them into SoterAI. The system flagged ergonomic risks, suggested improvements, and even calculated ROI on potential solutions.
By connecting ergonomic safety directly to ROI, the team reduced risk, improved efficiency, and built a stronger business case for investing in worker well-being.
Getting Safety Info to Frontline Workers
Think about a worker on the floor who needs to know the safety steps for a specific machine, like "press number four," right now. Waiting for a supervisor or a safety team member to find the document isn't just slow; it can be unsafe if the job continues without the right instructions.
SoterAI provided a way to solve this by letting companies like 4Front Engineering upload their own safety documents, such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and machine-specific lockout steps, into the system. This meant that frontline workers could be given access to ask the system directly.
For example, an employee could ask SoterAI, "How do I lock out press number four?" and get the correct, company-approved steps on their device. This direct and instant access to important safety information made it available to everyone in the plant, leading to a better-informed and more safety-conscious culture on the factory floor.
Implementation and Support
4Front Engineered Solutions is dedicated to delivering a seamless experience when it comes to implementing and supporting dock equipment and yard management software across distribution centers, manufacturing plants, retail spaces, and warehousing facilities.
With a strong focus on quality and customer satisfaction, 4Front Engineered Solutions provides exceptional customer service at every stage. This includes comprehensive training and ongoing maintenance programs for all material handling equipment, such as dock doors, TKO Dock Doors, and high-performance entrance automation products.
Industry-leading brands like Kelley, Serco, and TKO Dock Doors are at the core of 4Front Engineered Solutions' offerings, ensuring that customers benefit from engineered solutions that set the industry standard.
Overall Impact: A Better Way to Manage EHS at 4Front Engineering
Using SoterAI brought about big improvements at 4Front Engineering:
Saved a Lot of Time
Four heavy tasks – from writing policies to analyzing ergonomic risks and handling workers' comp questions – SoterAI greatly cut down the time needed.
More Efficient Team
The EHS team could now focus on more important work. The tool helped them process data faster, make better decisions, and spend less time on paperwork.
More Confident Decisions
Quick and reliable access to information and outlines meant Tim Rutkowski and his team could make decisions and act on safety issues with more confidence and speed.
4Front Engineered Solutions is home to industry leading brands including Kelley, Serco, TKO Dock Doors, APS Resource, 4SIGHT, Epic Fans, Albany, and Dynaco. 4Front aims to meet the critical needs of customers in warehousing, manufacturing, retail, and distribution centers, providing solutions that enhance safety, efficiency, and operational excellence across these sectors.
The overall experience at 4Front Engineering shows how smart tools like SoterAI can really change EHS management. By automating paperwork, providing strong analysis, and making important safety information easy to get, SoterAI lets safety professionals move past daily busywork and focus on what's most important: making workplaces safer, healthier, and more productive.