By Shea Gibbs, Associate Editor 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recent Accident, Injury & Fatality Summary for metalcasting facilities reads like a police blotter. It’s just the facts. But the conclusions are often grim.

“Employee was found with shoulders and head in a cleaning mill with the door shut on his back. Employee was pronounced dead at the site.”

“Three workers were seriously injured when the 165-ton rated electric arc furnace exploded. One employee died the following day.”

“The second shift foreman fell through a skylight while traversing the roof. The man was non-responsive and was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead by the coroner.”

The subjects of these stories are all workers in either ferrous or nonferrous U.S.-based metalcasting facilities. They’re your coworkers, and 56 of them died between Jan. 1, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2007. And while there was a slight overall decrease in fatalities in the industry over that 60 month-period, the number of deaths raises concerns.

According to the OSHA data, the leading causes of fatalities in that time period were:
1. struck or crushed;
2. falling from a height;
3. caught in machinery;
4. explosion/fire;
5. electrocution;
6. burn.

An overall culture of safety is required to eliminate life-taking mishaps around a manufacturing plant, according to Bill Kopenick, president of Professional Training Services Inc. “My experience has shown me that if there is an accident resulting in death, or injury, there most likely is a system failure somewhere that we must attempt to identify,” he said. (See sidebar for more on this culture.) But, according to Koepnick, there are also workable strategies you can implement in various areas of the metalcasting facility to avoid death resulting from the six
most deadly accidents in the metalcasting facility.

Struck or Crushed

According to OSHA, this most offensive of categories implies being hit by machinery or objects, not including being pinched in the inner workings of manufacturing equipment. So there’s not one catch all for preventing it. However, maintaining a proper mobile equipment training program can limit a large number of these accidents.

Ensure that all of your forklift, bobcat, etc., drivers are fully licensed through an internal program, and follow up with audits to ensure that the individuals driving the machines are those who are licensed. Mechanics also should be licensed to operate any piece of mobile equipment that he or she might repair.

In the three types of mobile equipment accidents (truck-truck, truck-pedestrian and truck-solid object), events involving a pedestrian are most often the cause of death. So, aid your mobile equipment operators with clear, well-lighted corridors, and install convex mirrors at blind corners.

Crushing by falling objects is an even more unpredictable accident, according to Jack Schuldt, Safety Specialties Inc., Mulberry, Fla. No cure-all exists, but metalcasters should be careful to secure heavy loads well and stack circular items like ductile iron pipe properly so that it cannot roll away from its moorings.

Cranes used to move heavy loads should be well maintained, as well. A proper preventive maintenance program should be in place to ensure the equipment is in good working order.

“The [metalcasting facility] must assign responsibilities for regular preventive maintenance,” Koepnick said. “Also, a system needs to be in place to annually review the preventive maintenance program and update it as necessary.”

Falling from a Height

A 4-ft. drop doesn’t sound life threatening. But OSHA recommends certain safety precautions from that height in a manufacturing setting, as opposed to a construction site, where the threshold height is six feet.

Falling from a height was the second greatest cause of metalcaster death over the past five years. To achieve heights of 4 ft. and above (to check the top of shot blasts for ejected or jammed shot, for example) metalcasters must use the proper equipment, which includes straight ladders, step ladders, extension ladders and lifts.

According to Schuldt, in the absence of those pieces of equipment, the employee going to the specified height must use a purpose-built scaffold or be encircled by guardrails. In one OSHA-reported case, an employee was monitoring the pouring of a large mold from an inadequately protected portable platform that lacked the proper guardrails. He fell 35 ft. into the holding pit surrounding the mold and was engulfed by a runout.

Without any of the safeguards, the employee traveling to a height above 4 ft. must be harnessed and tethered to a fixed point.

Caught in Machinery

Perhaps the best known of the fatality causes, being caught in machinery, is the third most prolific. Employees are most often crushed by machinery that has been improperly locked and tagged out.

Each employee responsible for machine maintenance and repair should have an individual key that operates the locking mechanism, which must be used to shut down the power source of the machine. All employees working on a piece of equipment must place his or her lock on each energy source.

No master key should exist for lockout apparatuses.

“You have to follow lockout/tagout to the letter, and there are many [metalcasting facilities] that don’t even have a quality lockout/tagout program,” Schuldt said.

If you lack a standard lockout tagout procedure, develop one by putting someone in charge of finding the electrical source of each piece of equipment in the facility. Remember that electricity is only one source of power. Hydraulic, pneumatic, gas and water power also must be shut off.

Next, the procedures for each lockout must be written down and explained to each machine operator. Each lockout procedure must be audited on an annual basis.

Using only well-designed equipment also can help limit death by machinery.

“Before any equipment is purchased, the company should assess it for safety,” Koepnick said. “Does the equipment meet your ergonomic needs? Can it be serviced, maintained or repaired without putting someone into a dangerous location?”

Explosion/Fire

If he had his way, Schuldt would raise the importance of this category of death-causing accidents, regardless of the OSHA data. It’s simply that dangerous in his mind.

“To avoid fatalities, keep moisture and water miles and miles away from molten metal, no question about it,” he said.
When molten metal entraps moisture, which is most common on water-cooled cupolas, an explosion is inevitably produced. Regular checks must be made to ensure water is not present in the furnace area, and if moisture does arise, dry sand should be used to soak it up. OSHA reports that at least one employee died within the past five years when an internal water leak sprung from a water-cooled panel of an electric arc furnace and caused an explosion.

Charge materials must also be monitored; if those materials contain moisture when they are introduced into the furnace, an explosion can occur. Moisture can enter the facility in other ways, as well. Ensure that the seals in your facility’s roof, pipes and windows are water proof, and keep your furnace location away from external openings.

Metalcasters should also be aware of explosions from other sources, such as excessive dust in the air. Water contacting molten metal accounts for 90% of the explosions that occur in a metalcasting facility, but the other 10% can be just as deadly.

Electrocution

Live electricity can claim human lives in many places, but it should be monitored closely in the metalcasting facility. By using the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and minimizing the individuals involved in working with electricity, it can be done.

“The [metalcasting facility] must identify authorized individuals for critical tasks such as working with open conductors,” Koepnick said.

A live electrical panel is defined by OSHA as any piece of machinery giving off at least 50 volts AC/DC. Whenever an individual is working with such a panel, they should use the following equipment:
• rubber gloves certified up to 1,000 volts
• double insulated tools
• face shield
• hard hat
• flame retardant clothing
• rubber mats
• non-conductive safety shoes

“Safety inspections should survey both PPE and the appropriate use of PPE,” Koepnick said.

OSHA also reports at least one death by electrocution in which a worker operated on an electrical panel he assumed was not drawing power. “The power disconnect for the crane was not locked out and found in the powered on position,” the report read. “The employee was found lying on the walkway after he had been electrocuted.”

Use lockout/tagout procedures to disable electrical sources, even when performing work that does not require you to enter the machine.

Burn

OSHA classifies burn-related injuries to be those instances when molten metal has been the cause in the absence of an explosion. Typically, this is due to a severe runout or ladle spillover.

All melt deck personnel should wear the appropriate PPE, according to Schuldt, and no unauthorized personnel should be allowed in the area during pouring. The minimum PPE requirements are 100% cotton socks and undergarments, 100% cotton or wool outer garments, safety glasses with side protection, and leather safety shoes with toe protection and a smooth toe. However, in many cases, additional protection can be required depending on the environment. If you suspect your environment might be more demanding than the standard melting and pouring situation, consult the OSHA standards for additional PPE requirements.

Ladle spillover, while not as intimidating as a runout, can also result in death, depending on the size of the ladle. To avoid sloshing metal, ensure that all ladles have at least 8 in. of free board between the metal skull and the ladle lip. For larger ladles, err on the side of caution with 12-15 in. of free board.

To keep runout and spillover accidents from becoming fatal, Schuldt suggests setting up a melting committee. Furnace operators and supervisors should be involved in the committee, and they should anticipate problems using the “what if” approach.

“What if it there is a runout?” Schudlt asked. “What are my written procedures for that?” MC

For More Information
"Avoiding Accidents" MODERN CASTING, Oct. 2007, p. 26-29.

Establishing a Safety Culture

While certain areas of the metalcasting facility are more dangerous than others, all fatal accidents cannot be avoided piecemeal. A facility that experiences an accident of this magnitude should look closely at the culture it has in place, particularly in the following areas:

Management Leadership
Management should:
• Establish and enforce work rules.
• Participate in regulatory activities.
• Support and provide resources for a plant safety committee.
• Define safety objectives and measure its progress and success.
• Create a system to evaluate and hold accountable safety leaders.
Inspection and Hazard Identification Programs
The metalcastery must be involved in planned inspections, including:
• Pre-use inspections.
• Routine inspections (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual).
• Safety condition inspections.
• Procedural inspections.

Rules, Licensing and Permits
Standards should exist for:
• Confined spaces.
• Hot work.
• Pressure vessels.
• Welding certifications.
• Personal protective equipment assessments.
• Elevator permits.

Safety Training
Thorough training programs should:
• Let workers know why they are learning a skill.
• Allow workers some control and input during training.
• Include a means to determine what has been learned and retained.