In manufacturing, compressed air is often called the “fourth utility.” Like electricity, water, and gas, it’s essential for keeping production running. But unlike the others, compressed air is frequently misapplied, or wasted, making it one… More
The Hierarchy of Controls and How It Applies to EXAIR Compressed Air Solutions
In industrial environments, safety teams rely on the Hierarchy of Controls to reduce workplace hazards. Rather than relying on personal protective equipment (PPE), this process prioritizes eliminating risks at their source or engineering them out of the process. For manufacturers, maintenance teams, and engineers, applying the hierarchy of controls can significantly improve safety, reduce downtime, and increase efficiency.
Many compressed air applications—blow off, cooling, conveying, and static elimination—present opportunities to implement safer and more effective solutions using products from EXAIR.
What Is the Hierarchy of Controls?
The Hierarchy of Controls is a widely accepted framework in occupational safety used to minimize or eliminate exposure to hazards. It is commonly promoted by organizations like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The hierarchy ranks safety controls from most effective to least effective:
- Elimination – Remove the hazard entirely
- Substitution – Replace the hazard with a safer alternative
- Engineering Controls – Isolate people from the hazard
- Administrative Controls – Change the way people work
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Protect the worker with gear
While elimination and substitution are ideal, they are not always feasible in manufacturing environments.
Applying the Hierarchy of Controls to Compressed Air Systems
1. Elimination
The most effective control is removing the hazard entirely. In compressed air systems, this can mean eliminating unsafe blow-off methods like open pipes or drilled tubing that create excessive noise, dangerous dead-end pressure, and flying debris. Replacing these setups with engineered solutions from EXAIR Corporation removes many of these hazards while maintaining performance.
2. Substitution
Substitution replaces hazardous equipment or processes with safer alternatives. In many facilities, this involves switching from improvised blow-off devices to engineered products like air nozzles or air knives. These solutions reduce noise, improve airflow efficiency, and significantly lower compressed air consumption.
3. Engineering Controls
Engineering controls isolate workers from hazards through equipment design. Many EXAIR products function as engineering controls by improving safety and reliability in compressed air systems. Devices like safety air nozzles, cabinet coolers, and air knives help control airflow, reduce noise levels, and prevent unsafe pressure conditions.
4. Administrative Controls
Administrative controls focus on improving procedures and training. This includes compressed air safety training, pressure guidelines, and routine system audits. While helpful, these controls rely on human behavior, so they are most effective when combined with engineered solutions.
5. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
PPE—such as safety glasses or hearing protection—is the last line of defense. It protects workers from hazards but does not remove the risk itself. Implementing engineered compressed air solutions can reduce many hazards before PPE becomes necessary.
Compressed air is one of the most widely used utilities in manufacturing—but it’s also one of the most misused. Improper blow off setups, excessive noise, and inefficient airflow can introduce safety hazards and energy waste.
With the right approach and the right equipment, companies can create safer, quieter, and more efficient processes—while maximizing the performance of their compressed air systems.
Solutions from EXAIR, help organizations move up the hierarchy by replacing unsafe methods with engineered products designed specifically for industrial environments.
Jordan Shouse, CCASS
Application Engineer / Sales Operations Engineer
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Hierarchy of Controls Image courdsey of CDC.Gov
Step 3: Upgrade Your Blow off, Cooling, and Drying Operations
In the world of manufacturing, compressed air is often called the “fourth utility.” It’s essential, but it’s also expensive to produce. If you’re following the Six Steps to Optimize Your Compressed Air System, Step 3 is where you stop the bleeding.
Upgrading your blow-off, cooling, and drying operations from “homegrown” solutions to engineered products is one of the fastest ways to slash energy costs and improve plant safety.
The Problem with “In-House” Solutions
Many plants rely on makeshift blow-off devices: crimped copper tubes, pipes with drilled holes, or basic air nozzles found at a hardware store. While they seem “free” or cheap, they are incredibly inefficient.
- High Air Consumption: They lack the physics to move air efficiently, requiring massive volumes of compressed air to do the job.
- Dangerous Noise Levels: Drilled pipes produce a high-pitched shear that often exceeds OSHA noise exposure limits.
- Safety Hazards: If a pipe or open tube is dead-ended against skin, it can lead to serious injury or air embolism.
The Engineered Solution: EXAIR Technology
This is where EXAIR engineered compressed air products change the game. Unlike a standard pipe, EXAIR products use the Coanda effect to “entrain” the surrounding room air. For every part of compressed air used, an EXAIR nozzle or air knife pulls in 30 to 40 parts of “free” ambient air.
If you are drying a conveyor belt or cleaning wide sheets of material, a drilled pipe is a money pit. An EXAIR Super Air Knife provides a high-velocity, uniform sheet of air across the entire surface. It’s quiet (around 69 dBA for most applications) and reduces air consumption by up to 80% compared to open headers.
For targeted blow-off or part ejection, Super Air Nozzles replace open tubes and cheap nozzles. They provide a forceful, concentrated stream of air while meeting OSHA requirements for skin pressure and noise. You get more “push” for significantly less “psi.”
Step 3 isn’t just about blowing air; it’s about optimizing how air manages temperature and waste. From Vortex Tubes that provide spot cooling without refrigerants to Air Amplifiers for smoke and fume removal, these tools ensure you aren’t overworking your compressors for simple tasks.
The Bottom Line
Upgrading to EXAIR engineered products isn’t just a maintenance fix; it’s a financial strategy. Most facilities see a return on investment (ROI) in just weeks through reduced energy bills.
By replacing inefficient, loud, and dangerous blow-off methods with engineered solutions, you’re not just optimizing your compressed air—you’re creating a quieter, safer, and more profitable shop floor.
Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer
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Top Ten Reasons Why Our Chip Vac Is Better Than The Industrial Vacuum You’re Using Right Now
According to a quick search for EXAIR blogs, it’s been over TWO YEARS since we made a Top Ten List. So, without further ado, from our home office in Cincinnati, Ohio, NOT Wahoo, Nebraska (if you get that reference, you can probably start asking about senior discounts at your favorite shopping & dining establishments), it’s time for the (drum roll, please) TOP TEN REASONS WHY AN EXAIR CHIP VAC IS BETTER THAN THE INDUSTRIAL VACUUM YOU’RE USING RIGHT NOW:
1. No moving parts: This means there’s nothing to wear out, clog, or break. You can run it all day if you need to, or you can turn it on & off as often as needed between uses.
2. No electric motor: Because it’s solely compressed air powered, you don’t have to worry about an electric motor (or any other electrical components) burning out. This also means there’s no risk of electrocution to the operator.
3. Direct flow action: The debris being vacuumed up is entrained into the powerful vacuum flow generated by the Chip Vac. There’s no impeller that the debris has to pass through, or around.
4. Selection of accessories: The Chip Vac System comes with a set of plastic vacuum tools and an aluminum chip wand. The Deluxe System adds a magnetic toolholder for a steel drum, and a drum dolly. Premium Systems come with all that, as well as a drum, and upgrades to a heavy-duty aluminum tool set and a static resistant 10ft vacuum hose. 20ft hoses are also available, and all the tools are available individually as well.
5. Quiet operation: With a sound level of only 77 dBA, they’re 50% quieter than typical electric motor-driven industrial vacuums.
6. Easy to move from one drum to another: This is especially handy for cleanup in a machine shop when different materials are being cut. You can have one drum for each material, and maximize your recycling payback.
7. Connect it directly to the vacuum port on a machine: Maybe I like this one because our shop’s chop saw is hooked to one, and it keeps the area really clean. Bonus points if you wire a Solenoid Valve in the air supply line to the on/off switch on the saw so the Chip Vac runs whenever you operate the saw…and ONLY when you operate the saw.
8. Debris goes directly into the drum: No constant heavy lifting & dumping of vacuum cleaner tanks, since everything is vacuumed right into the drum.
9. Safety & compliance: Our Chip Vacs comply with OSHA Standards, as well as the EU General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC, and meet the noise limitation requirements of the EU Machinery Directive 206/42/EC. Like all EXAIR engineered compressed air products, they’re certified to be Conflict Mineral-Free.
10. Free Vac-u-Gun: Who doesn’t like free stuff? Order a Chip Vac before May 31, 2026, and we’ll include a Model 6492 Vac-u-Gun at no charge. The air-saving Vac-u-Gun can be transformed from a powerful vacuum gun into an efficient blow gun or into a transfer tool for lightweight materials!
The Chip Vac is just one of our compressed air operated Industrial Housekeeping Products. If you’d like to get a jump on spring-cleaning, or if you’re just looking to up your cleanliness game regardless of the season, give me a call.
Russ Bowman, CCASS
Application Engineer
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Adjustable Air Amplifiers: Product Overview
EXAIR manufactures two types of Air Amplifiers: Super Air Amplifier™ and Adjustable Air Amplifier™. The Air Amplifiers can be used to cool, dry, clean, ventilate, exhaust and many other uses. In this blog, I will focus on the features and benefits of the Adjustable Air Amplifiers.
The main difference between the Super Air Amplifier and the Adjustable Air Amplifier is the fact the Super Air Amplifier has a shim inside of it that sets the gap for the air flow. Force and flow for the Adjustable Air Amplifier is changed by turning the exhaust plug with a pin wrench. This will open or close the gap inside, changing the amount of vacuum and air flow. When the desired performance has been found, we have a knurled lock ring to hold the flow at the desired level. This is great for changing environments where needs are regulated to different conditions.
The Adjustable Air Amplifiers come in either 303 Stainless Steel or Aluminum and are sized from ¾” to 4”. We offer them in a kit which will add a filter separator and a pressure regulator to the mix. The filter will clean the compressed air, and the regulator will control the amount of pressure to enable you to “dial it in”, so to say. We also have a deluxe kit which will add another item, Electronic Flow Control, or EFC. This unit has a photo-electric eye to control a timing circuit to turn on and off the Adjustable Air Amplifier. This helps to save on compressed air usage.
The maximum temperature rating for the Aluminum Adjustable Air Amplifier is 275oF (135oC) while the stainless-steel version is rated up to a maximum of 400oF (204oC). The stainless steel version is also used for chemical resistance and food applications.
They do not have any moving parts, so they will last a long time and require no maintenance. Since they do not employ a motor, they create a laminar airstream which makes them effective and quiet. They use a Coanda profile to generate a low pressure on one side to entrain a large volume of ambient air along with the primary, compressed air flow. The Air Amplifiers amplify the exhaust air up to 24:1, making them very efficient for the compressed air used to create the output flow. They are designed to have hoses attached to the discharge or suction side if you wish to move the air to or from another location.
EXAIR has many uses worldwide where our Air Amplifiers are being used. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your application, you can contact the Application Engineers at EXAIR. We would be happy to help.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb