Tips For A Safe Metal Shop
When you own a machine shop that handles metal cutting, welding, and other metal fabrication tasks, there are some things you are going to want to do in order to make the work environment as safe as possible for your employees. The tips here can help you to create that safe work environment so you can significantly decrease your risks of seeing injuries, as well as long-term illnesses in the future. Here are some of the things you want to be sure you implement in the metal fabrication shop.
Have extra protective clothing and gear readily available
Even if your employees are supposed to provide their own safety gear, you want to be sure no one forgets theirs and attempts to make use of gear that is old or not capable of offering them full protection for the tasks they are going to be doing. One example is to be sure you have extra welder's helmets with the appropriate rating for the welding taking place in your machine shop. Another thing is to make sure you have the right grade of gloves that your employees will need to use. Not only can using the wrong type of gear lead to serious injuries, but it also puts you at risk of finding yourself in hot water with OSHA.
Have clearly defined separate areas
It is crucial that each type of task has its own clearly defined section in the shop. If you have someone welding too close to someone cutting, there is the chance of one person causing serious injury to the other. You want to take all the steps necessary to protect each section. One of the things you can do is to build short walls around each section so the employees clearly know they aren't infringing on the other sections space. This also makes it harder for employees to misplace some of their work tools.
Have a good mechanical filtration system
With metal cutting and welding taking place in your shop, it is very important for you to make sure that the impurities put into the air are properly carried away so your employees will be breathing clean air. Otherwise, they can be at risk of developing respiratory problems in the future, and they can end up having problems with their eyes. The mechanical air filtration system will use disposable media filters, as well as mist impingers that remove things like fine metal chips and dust from the environment.