Enhanced Stone Fabrication Safety Through Dust Collection
When it comes to stone fabrication, safety is a must. Fabricators implement effective precautions to reduce the risk of injury from a number of basic safety hazards. However, with additional risks associated with Respirable Crystalline Silica there are other safety practices that can be implemented to enhance stone fabrication safety. Dust collection is one such safety enhancement.
Why Stone Fabrication Safety Is Needed
In the realm of stone fabrication there are a number of potential hazards that exist in the field. As a result, there are safety precautions. Both basic safety and extended safety measures are necessary. Some basic hazards that can occur in the fabrication shop include the following:
- Electrocution while operating the saw.
- Noise, kick back or getting hair, loose clothing, or jewelry caught wile cutting tile.
- Breaking a blade while cutting stone.
Because of these hazards, and others that can cause injury, there are some basic fabrication safety precautions. Stone professionals use these practices. Thus, contributing to a safe work environment.
Basic Fabrication Safety
Basic fabrication safety can help reduce or eliminate hazards in the fabrication shop. Some basic practices include:
- Use GFCI outlets.
- Use only cords with a grounding wire.
- Create a “drip loop” with the electrical cord.
- Wear noise reducing ear protection.
- Don’t force the machine to cut.
- Before starting the cut, allow the saw to reach full speed.
- Do not use dull blades.
- Use eye wear designed to protect eyes for flying debris.
- Keep clothes and hair close to body and do not wear jewelry while cutting.
Basic safety practices are only one aspect of shop safety. There are other potential hazards that come in the form of air quality. Although crystalline silica is a common mineral in the ground, there are also extremely small particles in the air.
Regular exposure to these very small crystalline silica particles can increase a person’s risk of developing the following silica related diseases:
- Kidney Disease
- COPD
- Lung Cancer
- Silicosis
Enhanced Stone Fabrication Safety
Enhancing shop safety by making use of filtration systems designed to remove dust from the air is something that fabrication shops are implementing in greater measure.
There are a number of machines designed to filter dust from the work environment. Wet collection units and dry dust collectors are both types of dust collectors. Additionally, you might want to consider a mobile dust extractor. And if the dust gets removed from the air, it cannot get breathed in by fabricators and stone workers. This adds an additional level of shop safety that goes beyond the basics mentioned above.
Of course, adding a dust collection unit to your shop only helps to the degree that it removes the particles from the air. So looking at the specs for any machine you are contemplating is a good idea so you know the proficiency of the machine. All specifications for Filter Project units are available here on the website for your review.