Electric Actuators-Safety
4 Industrial Safety Solutions for Electric Actuators
4 Industrial Safety
Solutions for Electric Actuators.
By Progressive
Automations
According to statistics, the number of fatal injuries at the
workplace is declining. Preliminary data* for 2012 reports that there are
almost 2,000 fewer fatal injuries at the workplace than there were in 1992 - down to 4,383 from 6,217. That isn't to say
we've made it to the golden age of safety, we can now offer up three cheers and
throw our safety helmets into the air while the machines are running. In fact,
this data begs the question ‘how can we further increase industrial safety
among workers?’ This is where electric actuators and industrial safety solutions
come in.
It’s hard to think of a manufacturing industry that doesn't
make use of electric actuators, but if you don’t have enough information about
these systems, it can be surprisingly easy to make an honest mistake in which
the least of consequences is losing your sanity during the worker’s claim
process. Nobody wants to see injuries on the job happen, so we've compiled this
list of electric actuator safety solutions designed to inform workers and
managers in industrial settings.
Safety Solution #1:
IP Rating
Know your IP rating. Electric actuators follow the IP Rating
system for Industrial Instrumentation. Any electric actuator used in an
industrial setting must have an IP rating of IP54 at the very least. If not,
you might as well get your pen ready for that worker’s claim. IP54 (Ingress
Protection) means your system has a protection rating of 5 and 4. This will
protect your fingers from getting caught in the component and from most dust,
but won’t protect you if you dunk it in water or take a swim with it.
Knowing what you can and cannot do with and around your actuators
may just prevent an unnecessary injury.
Safety Solution #2: PPE
Just because your car has a seat-belt and an airbag doesn't
mean you should careen down the road at four times the speed limit with your
head out the window screaming, “It’s okay! I’m wearing a seatbelt!” Same goes
for industrial safety. You might feel like a dork wearing safety glasses, but
you'd feel like even more of a dork if you lost an eye. Wear your PPE. PPE for
any electric actuator includes proper gloves, eyewear and forethought before
taking any action. If an electric actuator is rated for that particular system,
the unexpected can still happen. After long periods of use (months or years
depending on the quality), these components can become more likely to fail.
Maintenance for electric actuators takes almost no work at
all when you put it up against a pneumatic or a hydraulic actuator. If the
entire system has been installed correctly, the only thing you should have to
worry about is normal wear and tear, and lubrication. If you’re concerned about
lubricating your actuator, don’t know how or aren't sure how to tell if it
needs lubrication, contact your manufacturer, and they should be able to inform
you on the process.
Safety Solution #4:
Prevent Project Failure
One of the most common reasons for project failure is
improper loading. Since gravity is a force that will take precedence for the
foreseeable future, we must obey it. That means that if you've side loaded or
off-centered your electric actuators, the time it takes for normal wear and
tear to affect your component is accelerated. For lead screw actuators, the
screw can rub up against the housing of the mechanism, wear away at a faster
rate than is normal and cause failure at a moment when you’re not expecting it.
This is simply a case of measure twice and cut once. Just be sure that
everything is level and that you know what to expect from your actuators before
you hit that ‘on’ switch.
The statistics for workplace safety have been showing a
positive trend over the past decade, but without proper education and
implementation of new and already-existing procedures for safety, those
statistics don’t take on much meaning – not to mention they'll start to look a
lot worse again. If you work with something that moves, chances are that you’re
working with actuators. Take a step toward industrial safety solutions for your
industry, and educate yourself, your coworkers and your employees.
*Preliminary data does not necessarily reflect the actual numbers.
References:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,
2013. http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0011.pdf
Bio
Progressive Automations manufactures and distributes
affordable, high-quality automation products all across North America. As they
continually strive to keep their name synonymous with new, innovative
technology, they place an unsurpassed value on customer service and mutual
benefit.
Don (Follow me on Industrial Skills Training Blog and on Twitter @IndTraining .) Be sure to add me to your Google+ circles to stay on top!
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