11 WAYS TO IMPROVE WELDING SAFETY
Welding is becoming increasingly popular in many of today’s work environments, so it’s easy to lose sight of its potential dangers. In this post, you’ll learn 11 ways to improve welding safety, but first, how important is welding safety?
Why are welding safety precautions important?
When employees in welding facilities ignore welding safety rules, they become more likely to cut corners, hence they risk getting exposed to welding fumes, injuries, electrical shocks etc. While having a fume extraction system such as a dental aerosol fume extraction in dentist clinics or smt fume extractor can help eliminate toxic fumes in the air, in a welding facility, issues such as injuries and electrical shocks require one to adhere to welding safety procedures.
11 Welding tips that could save your life
- Inspect your work environment for welding hazards. This is so as to ensure your workplace meets federal, state and local regulations. Also monitor if employees are adhering to welding safety precautions.
- Ensure you’ve read welding and manufacturing manuals so as to get knowledgeable on safety precautions at work.
- Ensure workers are routinely trained on OSHA and NIOSH updates, latest equipment, changes to welding practices, improved safety procedures etc. Failure to train your workers on these aspects could lead to injuries, among other problems.
- Ensure your work environment is well organized. Remove unnecessary equipment, ensure all tools needed in welding are readily available and label the location where each equipment belongs.
- Use a fume extraction system to eliminate welding fumes so that workers don’t inhale them. This will go a long way in protecting their health and boosting productivity.
- Set up a 35-foot clearance around the welding location. In case of fire break out, the ongoing welding operations should be relocated.
- Ensure there are no flammable materials around the welding areas. These materials include boxes, cleaning products, wood, paper, paint, solvents etc.
- Always be alert and informed on what’s happening at any given time in the work area. Be aware of Arc flashes, power cables, vibrations and noises, bad posture etc.
- Ensure any cracks, holes or small openings are filled or covered up. Failure to do this could cause unseen wedge Sparks to ignite.
- Ensure your working environment is well ventilated and use appropriate protection to avoid inhaling toxic welding fumes, smoke and gases. These toxic fumes could pose a great danger to your health.
- Ensure your skin is protected from infrared, ultraviolet rays and sparks by properly buttoning your collars, shirt cuffs and front pockets.
