November 2024 Volume 6

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

First Steps One of the easiest steps that you can take is to work to clean up the forge shop envi ronment. Clean up the floors so that you eliminate fall and trip hazards. Store air hoses and hydraulic lines in their proper locations. Again, eliminate trip hazards. Remove all possible flammable materials from dangerous areas. I have been in many plants where the floors are slippery due to excessive oil and fluid accumulation. Daily cleaning to remove slag and flash must happen to keep the area clean. If we want to maintain and reduce our insurance risk, reduce the number of inci dents. The insurance industry looks at the following factors in measuring risk. • Property Value • Risk Factors • They evaluate your Risk Mitigation Measures • Perform Risk Analysis • Calculate expected Loss Percentages Then they calculate the probable maximum loss. Implementation of clean environ mental practices and elimination of hazards can play a major role in incident reduction. This problem is not going away, evaluate and change to protect your business.

• Knee strain due to long hours on your feet. • Back strains and other related physical issues are commonplace. Focus on proper lifting techniques by bending at the knees, keeping the back straight, lifting close to the body, avoiding twisting, and utilizing mechanical assistance when possible; regularly stretch before work to warm up muscles; strengthen core muscles to support the spine; provide proper training on safe lifting practices; ensure equipment is maintained and appro priate for the task. Consider implementing team lifting for heavy loads when necessary. A number of things can be implemented in your operations to begin to reduce your liability. Flame Retardant Hydraulic Oils All the hydraulic oils in the press room should be flame retardant. Some years ago, I had a forging producer that used hydraulic tool clamping. By mistake, hydraulic oil without flame retardant was introduced into the system and resulted in a major fire on the machine that damaged the machine’s lubrication and other systems causing unscheduled down time. High Pressure Hydraulic and Pneumatic Hoses (Steel Reinforcement) Assume that all hydraulic and pneumatic hoses are high pressure. Often the hoses lay on the floor around the press and other work-cell equipment. During tool changes hoses laying on the floor are damaged by forklift and other equipment running over the hoses. When the hose breaks it will spray air or oil into the air and once the oil becomes combined with the air it can easily ignite. In addition, damaged hoses can move around violently and cause other damage or injury to equipment or individuals within the work cell. The hoses should be inspected on a regular basis and replaced once the damage is noted. Excessive Noise Proper hearing protection is an absolute in the steel forming and metal forming industries. Some stamping operations have moved toward full enclosures to minimize production noise, however it is not really practical in forging operations. Below is information provided by the CDC regarding hearing loss in various industries. Noise exposure and hearing protection • About 25% of all workers have been exposed to hazardous noise, with 14% (22 million) exposed in the last year. • 53% of noise-exposed workers report not wearing hearing protection. Hearing loss and tinnitus • Approximately 12% of all workers have hearing difficulty. • About 8% of all workers have tinnitus. • About 20% of noise-exposed tested workers have a material hearing impairment. Hearing impairment is hearing loss that impacts day-to-day activities. • 13% of noise-exposed tested workers have hearing impairment in both ears. As you can see it is a problem in our industry. As I have traveled across the country the majority of employees wear their company provided hearing protection, but not all. It is simple, effective, and enforceable. Please take the necessary steps toward hearing protection! PPE Fireproof Clothing and Forearm Protection and Gloves Forging can be a dangerous profession with hazards surrounding workers on a daily basis. People who work a lifetime in the forging industry will often leave with scars and burns from their professional life as not everything can be avoided.

Jeff Fredline Owner-Industry Consultant Prestrade Phone: 615-517-4282 Email: fredline.jeff@gmail.com

Special thanks to Cottingham and Butler for pictures, charts and information used in this article by permission.

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2024 33