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.
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. A key factor in its adoption was its robust security and ease of integration; even with 4Front Engineering’s highly stringent IT security rules, which restricted common browser tools, SoterAI was implemented without any issues, demonstrating the platform’s strong security measures and commitment to data privacy.
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. This could make policy writing feel like a real drag.
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 – the main parts of the policy – from SoterAI. This let them focus on fine-tuning the content and adding details specific to their site, making the whole process of keeping their safety documents up-to-date much quicker and less painful.
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. In some areas, workers were still relying on outdated packing methods simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.”
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. This streamlined approach gave supervisors a clear picture of problem areas without requiring complicated analysis or lengthy reporting.
Armed with this data, the 4FRONT EHS team was able to make the case for upgrades like outfeed conveyors and new assembly fixtures. What once felt like a “nice-to-have” improvement could now be backed by numbers showing real savings. 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.
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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. The system could even answer follow-up questions, like talking to a safety expert.
This direct and instant access to important safety information made it available to everyone in the plant. Key procedures were easy to find, anytime, which meant less waiting for a safety manager. Giving frontline workers this tool helped them find the guidance they needed quickly, leading to a better-informed and more safety-conscious culture on the factory floor.
Overall Impact: A Better Way to Manage EHS at 4Front Engineering
Using SoterAI brought about big improvements for EHS at 4Front Engineering:
Saved a Lot of Time: For many 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 get more done. The tool helped them increase their output, with one speaker saying a small team could work like a much larger one.
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.
Tim Rutkowski’s 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 helps safety professionals move past daily busywork and focus on what’s most important: making workplaces safer, healthier, and more productive.
