Three Important Guidelines for Industrial Conveyor System Safety
Conveyor belt systems are crucial and beneficial machines designed for handling bulk materials in the industrial and commercial environment. This type of equipment will minimise the amount of manual labours required for handling heavy goods in your worksite. In addition, it will promote long-term productivity by ensuring that the bulk-handling processes are performed quickly.
On the other hand, the conveyor system is a mechanical and electrical device, so its installation is associated with significant safety hazards. Improper usage of the equipment could lead to injuries and subsequent reduced productivity and financial losses. Therefore, consider the outlined safety guidelines to help you promote good conveyor performance without any incidents.
Install Required Safety Devices
Most injuries related to conveyor belt systems are associated with the exposed moving components. In simple terms, physical trauma is likely to occur at points where moving parts meet other moving or stationary surfaces. If the workers' clothes, skin or other body structure are caught in between, the machinery will pinch, squeeze or nip at the pertinent item. The subsequent injury could be major, depending on the size of the machinery and the affected body structure.
Therefore, you should purchase and install conveyor guards for your equipment. These are special safety devices designed to conceal moving parts and other hazardous components from workers around. If the guards are present and properly set up, there is minimal risk of burns, abrasions and related issues. The important conveyor guards include coupling, drive guard, return roller and end shaft guards. For ideal results, check the recommendations made by your conveyor manufacturer.
Promote Expert Maintenance and Operation
The conveyor belt system is designed with complex internal components and intricate controls. If these are mishandled or misused, the workers around will be exposed to danger, and the equipment could ail prematurely. Therefore, you must ensure that the conveyor in your worksite is only operated and controlled by a trained and qualified professional. This is critical in preventing misuse of the controls.
In addition, you should engage a specialist technician for the maintenance of the system. This will prevent injuries which can easily occur when an inexperienced person handles complex machinery. You should also note that improper maintenance and unauthorised modifications could compromise the equipment's long-term safety and performance.
Avoid Overloading
Conveyors are strong machines, but they are not infallible, particularly when exposed to high stress. Therefore, ensure that the workers understand and adhere to the weight limits imposed on the equipment. Additionally, a stopped conveyor should not be loaded because this will exert undue strain.
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