Archive for the ‘Safety Sense’ Category

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New manganese exposure guidance

February 15th, 2013
By: Dan Davis

Metal fabricating companies that seek to provide the safest work environments for their employees might be interested to know that the job might get a little harder in the welding department. The leading industrial health and safety organization that regularly issues guidance for certain toxic compounds is recommending a dramatic reduction in manganese fume exposure.

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has recommended a 10-fold reduction in the time weighted average (over eight hours) threshold limit value for respirable manganese particulate. The association reduced the TLV-TWA limit of 0.2 mg/m3 to 0.02 mg/m3. In other words, a person should not breathe in more than 0.02 mg/m3 of manganese over an eight-hour work period. (more...)

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From one metalworker to another and beyond

October 4th, 2012
By: Vicki Bell

Last week I wrote about a welder who called me to discuss some health concerns and wondered if his company should be having its welders take blood tests. A metalworker who read the blog post, “A call from Chet,” related very much to Chet’s concerns and shared his thoughts with me via e-mail.

With the reader’s permission, I am sharing what he had to say. However, at his request, I’m withholding his name. As he noted, he does not have medical credentials, and this is the first objection folks use when challenging his viewpoint. (more...)

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A call from 'Chet'

September 27th, 2012
By: Vicki Bell

Had an interesting phone call this week. A welder who’s been plying his trade for 18 years called to talk about some job-related health concerns he has. He called me because of an article I wrote eight years ago: “Welding fume health hazards.” Since the article was written, various class-action lawsuits against consumable manufacturers have wound their way through the courts, most of which have been resolved in favor of the defendants. Also since then, several welders, like the one who called this week, have shared their concerns with me. In each case, I have told the welders that I am not a doctor, and they should schedule appointments with their physicians to discuss their concerns. Each time, I have listened to their concerns and worried about them long after the call ended.

This call was a little different than the others. Where others simply had described various ailments they felt might be attributed to their occupation, Chet (not his real name) mentioned something none of the others described. (more...)

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Thank you, welders

September 12th, 2012
By: Vicki Bell

Tuesday was the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The September "Fabricating Update" e-newsletter that went out that day described the safety elements that went into the design of the new One World Trade Center building. It also made special note of the welding aspect of the structure—how the welders are undoubtedly mindful of the serious nature of their work and are doing their best to ensure that the welds are sound, just as they do on bridges and other critical structures—every day. (more...)

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Skilled labor wants a safe workplace

August 28th, 2012
By: Tim Heston

Just in time for election season (which, as a multiyear event now, is far longer than a season), a few advocacy groups are putting forth their views about what U.S. manufacturing needs. One of the most concise reports comes from the Georgia Tech and Council on Competitiveness, which released its report last week. Boiled down, the report says U.S. manufacturing needs improved infrastructure, simpler taxation and regulations, more skilled talent, and a focused industrial policy.

Many of those policies hit home for the nation’s larger manufacturers, and they’re indirectly important for the contract metal fabricators and other smaller companies that supply those OEMs. But skilled labor hits home for everybody.

(more...)

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Where there are fumes, there's no fire for welding companies

June 15th, 2012
By: Dan Davis

In a day when class action lawsuits centering on such things as asbestos, concussion injuries, or tobacco seem to be in the news quite often, don't expect to be reading about suits targeting welding rod manufacturers. Attorneys targeting those welding consumable manufacturers appear to have given up.

That point of view comes from Michael Degan, who works with the Gas and Welding Distributors Association and is a partner with the law firm of Husch Blackwell LLP. "… [R]umors have been floating that the steering committee for plaintiffs [in these suits against welding companies] has been negotiating a proposal to terminate all currently pending welding fume cases. Such an agreement would effectively end welding fume litigation as a mass tort," Degan wrote. You can read the synopsis here. (more...)

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Safety first, everything else second

May 16th, 2012
By: Dan Davis

Manufacturing is a matter of life and death.

Ask company owners what that statement means, and they might reply that every strong country needs a robust manufacturing sector. Ask manufacturing workers the same question, and they will tell you it's about their ability to go home safely to their families. They know the everyday risks because they live with them each and every workday.

The hazards? Watch out for the heavy weldment being hoisted over your head. Listen up for the lift truck whizzing by with the pallet of parts that haven't been secured tightly. Check to see if that press brake is shut down before performing routine maintenance. In summary, keep your head on a swivel and be aware at all times, because a metals manufacturing environment can be a dangerous place. (more...)

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At FABTECH: The importance of coming home

November 17th, 2011
By: Tim Heston

As I write this, FABTECH 2011 is about to close. For four days the floor has been full of some serious buyers. In the near-term, capital spending in metal fabrication is heading upward, with no sign of abating.

The first three days alone had more than 31,000 visitors. Dozens of attendees have told me that business continues to be brisk. Some are busier than others, but all are survivors of a serious downturn—and they've gotten smart. Companies such as M A Metal Co., in Edinburgh, Ind., have diversified strategically. M A Metal had focused mainly on stamping, but now the metal manufacturer offers significant fabrication capability, including laser cutting, bending, and even advanced rolling, including cone rolling.

Effective manufacturing has been a mantra. Machine tools at this year's FABTECH don't just cut or bend faster, the move faster between those bends and cuts, and between jobs. For today's flexible manufacturers, a high-powered machine that takes forever and a day to set up doesn't have as much value as a slower machine that can quickly change over between jobs.

(more...)

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Two teens killed at work

July 27th, 2011
By: Eric Lundin

The story is a heartbreaker. Two teenagers, 14-year-old girls on the threshold of attending high school, were detasseling corn on a farm in northwestern Illinois when they were electrocuted after coming into contact with an irrigator.

Detasseling is practically a rite of passage where corn is grown. I spent a summer detasseling, as did most of my friends. It’s not for everyone—the days are long, hot, and tiring, and the pay isn’t very good. The upside is that it isn’t all that dangerous. When a parent sees a child off in the morning, he expects that child will return that afternoon. (more...)

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Speak up but don't hold your peace

June 4th, 2010
By: Dan Davis

The continuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is silently eating away at my insides. My grandmother purchased a camp in Clermont Harbor, Miss., back in 1969 after Hurricane Camille dramatically rearranged the Gulf Coast. Growing up I spent most of my summers down on the white beaches of the Redneck Riviera. It wasn't until the early 1990s that I finally stopped going down there as my career took me to northern Illinois. Even with the time away, I always think about the good times I had at the camp and on the beach just down the road.

Of course, Hurricane Katrina wiped Clermont Harbor off the map. Storm surges literally took every object and structure a half-mile inland back to the gulf. But since 2005, the beaches have been restored as was hope. That was the case at least until the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up on April 20, unleashing a huge environmental catastrophe that will take lifetimes to correct. (more...)

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