Two Safety Precautions Manufacturers of Structural Steel Should Take

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Manufacturers of structural steel components often use very powerful machinery to produce their products. Because of this, it is important for these manufacturers to take certain precautions to keep their employees safe. Read on to learn more.

Invest in safety equipment to prevent laser-related injuries and accidents

Most, if not all manufacturers who specialise in structural steel manufacturing use laser cutting technology to cut and shape steel components such as rectangular hollow sections, beams, joists and v-shapes.

Whilst laser cutting machines are extremely useful, they can also be quite dangerous. If an employee is exposed to the heat of a laser beam, they could sustain a severe burn or (if the beam is directed at their eye) eye damage.

As such, it is important for manufacturers who use this type of machinery to invest in safety equipment to prevent injuries of this kind from occurring.

There are several kinds of items that can be used for this purpose, including laser-blocking partitions and enclosures (which help to prevent employees passing by the laser machine from being exposed to the heat of its beam), illuminated warning signs (which can help to alert employees to the fact that they are approaching the laser machinery) and finally, filter windows; these windows enable staff members who need to monitor the laser cutting operations to view the machinery, without having to risk exposing themselves to the laser beam).

Prioritise air quality in areas where welding occurs

Certain steel components, such as rectangular hollow sections, often need to be joined to other components. This is usually done with welding equipment.

When a rectangular hollow section is welded to another component with welding equipment, fumes and gases are often released into the air. These fumes and gases can sometimes contain tiny particles of metals such as cadmium, arsenic and aluminium, as well as gases such as hydrogen fluoride, carbon monoxide and argon.

When inhaled, these substances can inflict serious damage on a person's body; they can cause cancer, occupational asthma, lung infections as well as a medical condition called 'metal fume fever'.

Given this, it is extremely important for steel manufacturers who use welding equipment to join together various components to make sure that the air in the parts of their facilities where welding occurs is kept as clean as possible. The most effective way to do this is to install both a ventilation system and an extraction system.

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13 November 2017

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