by Bill Spenceley, Flexahopper Plastics
One of the major challenges facing rotomolding companies remains the heavy dependence on labor. And while there are new advances in equipment, most companies continue to experience higher input labor costs than found with other competing plastic processes. It is also equally important that company managers have ready access to a labor pool of capable, experienced workers with some general knowledge of mechanical equipment. Sadly, unlike a generation ago, young people today may find fewer opportunities to gain experience mechanically in their schooling. Public educational institutions tend to avoid these activities, fearing legal reprisals if students are injured during the course of this training (wood working, automotive, etc.).
Faced with this reality, managers need to devote even more resources to assess what skills each individual has and provide any customized training necessary on their premises. Most successful operations I’ve visited have well established programs to solve these deficiencies. But even trained and experienced workers get injured. I’m hopeful this article will raise awareness of some industry specific incidents and help you identify risks and opportunities to create a safer work environment. The examples will gradually increase in severity and you might get queasy with the graphic pictures.
Based on industry incident reports, the most common injuries are hand lacerations involving hand scrapers or utility knives. These small and useful tools require a healthy respect from their users and most injuries occur when employees become complacent (lose respect). A valuable example of an injury from even the most innocuous of working materials is shown in (see photo on page 43 of a high energy equipment injury). This nasty laceration resulted from the mishandling of steel wool (venting material) and would require a trip to the doctor and stitches. Who’d have thought?
Obviously, when injuries like this occur, the first action is to assist the worker and provide first aid, but don’t waste the opportunity to communicate to other staff the cause, result, and ways to avoid similar situations going forward! Host an emergency safety meeting and discuss the incident with workers while things are still fresh in their minds. Sometimes we have been lucky to have pictures provided by the injured workers, with their permission, and have displayed them on notice boards near workstations.
The next level of injury involves accidents with what I refer to as “high energy” equipment. Unlike simple hand tools, high energy equipment includes power devices like routers, table saws, and band saws. The risk level here is much higher and a momentary lapse in respect can result in severe injury. Operators need to be trained, with demonstrated competence, on how to always maintain control of these devices and use established safety procedures. Senior staff also need to address or discipline workers when they observe noncompliance with safety guidelines.
Companies can also raise the level of shop safety by maintaining and replacing outdated equipment. There are also opportunities to introduce new safety technology similar to a product called Saw-Stop. Saw-stop was the first company to develop an emergency stop mechanism that detects any flesh coming into harm’s way and instantly arrests the high speed saw blade. Before Saw-Stop’s technological breakthrough the outcome of such a situations were dire, with victims usually losing one or more fingers. We were skeptical how this product would perform with some of the specialty materials we cut (including semi-conductive materials) so we sent samples to the company to test before buying. No problems occurred and we can report that in nine years of use we have never had an injury with that saw. When technology like this becomes available you can’t afford not to purchase it! If you’d like to see Saw-stop in action, check out this website (http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eiYoBbEZwlk) and watch the inventor demonstrate the product’s effectiveness while saving his own finger!
Luckily, similar technology is now in development for band saws. I’ve seen countless facilities where large band saws are used to cut up scrap with guards typically raised high for convenience reasons. A complacent operator can easily cut off a finger without even knowing it. However, until it reaches the market, guards must be adjusted properly and proper training given.
Hand routers, because of their size, won’t likely see applications with this technology as the inertia to stop a heavy spinning armature would be too great. For these devices the most important thing for the operator is to always make sure the direction of the cut is against the rotation of the blade. By doing so the operator maintains control and can avoid the router kicking back. I’ve even see operators bring the blade to a stop when the material starts to bind. An inexperienced operator cutting WITH the rotation can easily get into trouble and I’ve heard of a router flinging away and causing a major injury.
For some parts a hand router might place operators at risk because of an unusual geometry or confined placement that makes it difficult to hold the device firmly. These types of cuts are best done on a CNC router. With area guards in place, CNC routers reduce the risk to employees and produce consistent parts. If your company manufactures a substantial number of products that require difficult trimming you should look at the economics and might find that these machines are within financial reach.
Movement of heavy equipment in a facility is another area of risk that is often overlooked. I always tell people the most dangerous pieces of equipment in my plant are forklifts. Not only that, but every time I buy another one the risk factor jumps by a large measure. They are essential to move heavy objects but misuse can result in severe injury or death. As part of your safety program, insist that all new operators be trained and tested to demonstrate competence and awareness of procedures before they ever get near the keys. There are quite a number of YouTube videos that show actual incidents with operators and these are great ways to spread awareness.
Operators need to realize that the safest place to be in an upset is seat belted in their seat. If an incident occurs, they will not have time to react and we’ve had a forklift flip over where an operator ejected out of his seat and was lucky not to be crushed.
The roll bar also provides a measure of safety from falling debris from an unstable stack of products particularly when moving through a doorway where the door is not raised fully, or clipping a column of a shelving rack (search for forklift accidents on YouTube).
A really bad habit that operators practice is using a forklift to push things away for convenience. Instead of getting off the forklift to move something out of their path, they simply nudge the object with the leading face of the equipment. This can place other employees at risk particularly when multiple objects are pushed. The forklift is a powerful piece of equipment and the operator will not be able to sense something resisting the items being pushed. That little push on the gas pedal could spell disaster.
As an owner, it’s very important to catch this unsafe behavior before it becomes a common practice. Chances are that the staff members who are practicing this behavior will make sure they do it while you are out of sight. We discovered a simple method to stop this practice when we brought a used forklift from one of our west coast branches. Although it was a used unit, the reseller insisted on repainting and it appeared almost like new when they delivered it. It was a point of pride for one of our supervisors to keep it in immaculate shape and he drilled that into his staff who were afraid to be the first person to scuff it up. When we received this particular forklift at our headquarters we compared it to a unit we had purchased new (refer to photo of forklifts parked back to back). The difference was astounding and we decided to paint all of our units so that any driver scuffing it up would have to file out an incident report (which is a rarity). So a little paint not only makes your forklift fleet look better, but dramatically reduces impacts or injury.
Fire is another hazard to consider in your company. Most companies keep a reasonably clean shop, but what about inside the ovens. Molds can leak material out over time and, if it gets hot enough, can ignite. What are your operators trained to do and are there any procedures? Sadly, most companies fail here and it might be just by chance that the situation gets resolved effectively. More likely, people will be drawn into a panic and mistakes made. Astronauts have a valuable saying they live by, “That there’s no such thing as problem you can’t make worse”. Panic is a real worry when dealing with a fire and a major disaster can unfold easily.
Aside from shutting down a machine on fire, there should also be a gas gate valve in close proximity to stop more fuel from entering the oven. One helpful suggestion to avoid an oven fire turning into something bigger is to retrofit individual ovens with some water sprinklers that can simply be activated by a manual valve. It might be messy in the end but it should stop the fire cold. Other causes of fires include operators mishandling flammable liquids like solvent based releases.
The last topic of this article deals with fatalities. Sadly, our industry has not been immune from these situations and, as owners, we’re haunted by the thought of life loss in our business. For the two incidents I’m aware of there seemed to be a disconnect in operating procedures, that lead to terrible outcomes. One of the cases involved improper lockout procedures during the maintenance of an oven where an operator was trapped inside. This case was widely documented, litigated, and the local rotomolding association produced safety guidelines to address lockout and egress from a heated oven. I encourage all molders to consider adopting some of those recommendations and share the story with your staff.
Another reported fatality occurred when some employees used unauthorized demolding techniques involving air pressure to release a stubborn part. We’ve all been there when you have a tough part that doesn’t want to come out. If the particular part had been small nothing may have happened but the volume of the part and the high pressure finally released with such force that the workers were killed. Despite the management not sanctioning this procedure the company incurred significant financial penalties. As an owner, you need to be aware and correct any unsafe work practices!
What’s the take away from this? Share these stories is the first step. Help your employees understand that they may not be aware of the dangers that lurk from misuse or lack of understanding with procedures. Build a culture in your company when employees take ownership and they communicate. Emphasize safety and continuous learning. Developing this culture takes a lot of effort and will require changes and discussion.
There are a number of ways to deliver your message within the company. Regular safety meetings are helpful. Establish committees to meet regularly and any workers who haven’t been injured should be enlisted to populate the group. Bring in outside consultants who can help you craft policies and identify hidden hazards. These people are experts and can accelerate implementation and communicate awareness to your team.
Place pictures (even gory ones) at workstations where accidents have occurred. Make them visible and share the story behind the occurrence. In the last couple of years, we’ve installed TV monitors inside our plant. The screens are hooked up to computers that loop PowerPoint presentations highlighting safety issues as well as performance goals and company activity. Your workers will see these messages every day and they’ll continue to reinforce safe work practices in your organization.
I hope that we can share concerns with the industry and keep our molders safe.
from an article at RotoWorld®
https://rotoworldmag.com/safety-in-the-shop/
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