Category: Safety

Safety Air Gun Case Study

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

On the first of this month, my co-worker Jason wrote a blog about our case study program. Check it out here. Case Study: Make Your Case. He did a great job breaking the case study program down, and how it can save you money on compressed air and even get a credit to save money on the purchase of EXAIR products. It inspired me to write about one of the most common case studies I send to customers!

You can read and download the case study at the bottom of this blog, but below are the key points!

It is pretty common to get calls about blow-off guns not complying with OSHA dead end pressure and allowable noise exposure. And 9 out of 10 times we can help with that concern along with the added benefit of being more efficient and saving compressed air supply.

Before EXAIR, this customer used open-ended guns with large cross-drilled holes, while these cross-drilled holes allowed the guns to be compliant with the OSHA dead end pressure standard 29 CFR 1910.242(b) they resulted in a staggering 104 dBA. And because of how often they were being used they were not in compliance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95(a) allowable noise exposure. Not to mention, these guns consumed a whopping 49 SCFM @ the 80 PSIG supply pressure.

After EXAIR, in total, after a short testing phase, they bought 355 model 1250-12 Safety Air Guns. The 1250-12 reduced the sound level to 82 dBA (a 22 dBA reduction) and reduced the air consumption to 35 SCFM @ 80 PSIG (a 14 SCFM reduction).

When you worked the math out over a working year, they saved over $28,506.50 dollars in compressed air generation costs. And brought the sound level into compliance with their environment and working patterns. (Not to mention the $1,500 USD credit they got for providing the case study information)

1567_Soft_Grip_Safety_Air_Guns_help_reach_OSHA_compliance_and_reduce_compressed_air_useDownload

EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products have been making things better for compressed air users for over forty years. If you’d like to find out how MUCH better we can make things for you, give me a call.

Jordan Shouse, CCASS

Application Engineer

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Comparing and Combining Sound Levels

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

Sound levels are an important safety consideration in most industrial facilities. OSHA has guidelines on allowable noise levels and exposure, covered in OSHA Standard 29CFR – 1910.95 (a). Sound levels are measured in decibels, or dB. It makes sense that a higher decibel value means a louder sound (as illustrated in the graphic below). What is not intuitive is how multiple sound levels interact and combine, or how they compare to one another.

The first thing to understand about sound levels is that they aren’t measured on a linear scale. Instead, they’re measured on a logarithmic scale. This can really throw off our intuition. For instance, a sound at 20dB is actually 10 times stronger than one at 10dB, and a sound at 30dB is 100 times stronger than 10dB. If it were a linear scale, 20dB and 30dB would only be 2 and 3 times stronger than 10dB, similar to how mass works—like 20kg being double the mass of 10kg.

You can see why this is the case with the formula for calculating sound levels, which is as follows:

It’s important to note that the sound pressure levels calculated using this formula are unweighted. To really grasp how loud something will seem to us, we have to consider how our ears pick up various frequencies. This means that low and extremely high frequencies are given less weight than on the standard decibel scale. This adjusted measurement is referred to as dBA. You can check out some typical sounds and their dBA levels in the chart below:

Because of this logarithmic scale, combining two sounds can be pretty counter-intuitive too. Our Model 1100 Super Air Nozzle generates a sound level of 74 dBA, but when you place two of them side by side, the sound level jumps to 78 dBA (and not 148dBA). This is determined using the formula below:

The specifics of this calculation are explained in this blog here, but OHSA provides a quick and easy way to calculate, as shown in the table below:

To see if you need to tackle the noise levels in your facility, you should start by taking a baseline measurement of the different processes and devices that are making the noise. EXAIR’s Sound Level Meter, Model 9104, is here to help. It’s super user-friendly and gives you a digital readout of the sound level (no need to deal with logarithms!).

If you would like to discuss sound levels in your facility, or any of your other compressed air needs, give us a call!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Compressed Air Safety Dos and Don’ts

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

In the Navy, it was a universally accepted fact that NOTHING onboard the ship was “sailorproof.” Regardless of how it was designed, what it was made of, how many interlocks, mechanical stops, automatic shutoffs, etc., something had, any & all of those features could be overridden (by accident or on purpose) and cause a wide range of chaos, and/or damage, and/or injury. That’s why training and procedures are so important.

It’s the same in any civilian/corporate industry too – any device, tool, instrument, machinery, etc., can be inherently dangerous if it’s not used properly. And “used properly” for a LOT of those includes personal protective equipment, commonly known as PPE.

In the United States, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) publishes a couple of standards relevant to the safe use of compressed air:

Standard 1910.242(b) applies to the use of compressed air for cleaning. It states “Compressed air shall not be used for cleaning purposes except where reduced to less than 30 p.s.i. and then only with effective chip guarding and personal protective equipment.”

  • Do wear eye protection, at a bare minimum, in regard to the personal protective equipment, no matter what. If the debris you’re blowing off is sharp or jagged, a full face shield & long sleeves are likely called for as well.
  • Don’t operate a blowoff device in a manner where the static pressure at the outlet of the nozzle will reach or exceed 30 p.s.i. If you’re using an engineered product like an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle, it’s perfectly fine to use a higher air supply pressure than that. They’re designed so that the outlet pressure won’t exceed 30 p.s.i. no matter what the supply pressure is.
EXAIR engineered Air Nozzles, like the Model 1100 Zinc Aluminum Super Air Nozzle shown here, discharge the compressed air flow through a series of holes, recessed between an array of fins. This means that there’s always a relief path for the airflow, so the outlet pressure cannot reach a dangerous level.

Standard 1910.95(a) isn’t exclusive to the use of compressed air, but since the discharge of a high pressure gas to atmospheric pressure can create quite a racket, noise levels associated with the use of compressed air often exceed exposure limits published in this standard.

  • Do protect your ears, same as you do your eyes. This one is near & dear to me, because my Dad lost a significant amount of his hearing in his early 40’s as a result of occupational noise exposure, and I saw first-hand what an impact that has on quality of life…for him, and frankly, for us too. There are a number of ways to do this, and the National Institute of Safety & Health (NIOSH) ranks them in order of effectiveness in their Hierarchy of Controls.
  • Don’t make earplugs, earmuffs, headphones, etc., the first and only line of defense. Don’t get me wrong; they work GREAT when the right ones are used properly…”right” and “properly” being the key words there.
  • So, DO make selection, training, and enforcement of their usage a high priority if the source of the noise cannot be:
    • Eliminated – this can be a toughie, because whatever’s making the noise is very likely there for a reason.
    • Substituted – this is a much more common, and still highly effective method, as engineered products like EXAIR manufactures can dramatically lower noise levels while maintaining the effectiveness of compressed air usage.
Examples of some sound levels we’re all familiar with, and how some EXAIR products compare favorably.

In closing, my last dos & don’ts are: Do heed OSHA’s safety standards, so you don’t get a hefty fine for endangering yourself or the folks you work with. Frankly, if they catch you before anyone gets hurt, you got off light. If you’d like to find out more about how EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products can improve safety with your compressed air usage, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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More About Compressed Air Safety

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

We all know how crucial safety is in the workplace. Most companies conduct some type of annual safety training, and a key takeaway from these sessions is that safety isn’t just the job of a few individuals; it’s everyone’s responsibility. At EXAIR, we take safety very seriously. Many of our products are designed with safety as a priority, including our Safety Air Guns, which highlight our commitment to this principle. This focus is essential because using compressed air can pose health risks if not handled correctly.

In the U.S., OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is the agency that enforces regulations to ensure safe and healthy work environments. They have the authority to impose hefty fines for any violations. When it comes to compressed air, two common violations involve air guns and blow-off devices, as outlined in 29CFR 1910.242(b) regarding dead-end pressure/chip shielding and 29CFR 1910.95(a) concerning maximum noise exposure limits.

The first regulation, 29CFR 1910.242(b), pertains to hand-held tools. It specifies that blow-off devices should not be used at pressures exceeding 30psig if the compressed air can become dead-ended. If there’s no escape route for the air, it can penetrate the skin and lead to an air embolism. A straightforward solution is to drill a hole to provide an alternate escape path, although this can introduce other safety concerns, which we’ll cover later. EXAIR’s air nozzles are designed with fins that allow air to escape safely, preventing blockage by your skin. This means you can confidently use the EXAIR Super Air Nozzles at pressures above 30psig.

The second regulation, 29CFR 1910.95(a), outlines the maximum sound levels that a person can safely be exposed to. Prolonged exposure to high sound levels can lead to permanent hearing damage. This is where the cross-drilled nozzle doesn’t quite meet the mark. While it’s safe for dead-end pressure, the noise from the turbulent airflow is quite loud. In contrast, EXAIR’s nozzles are designed to pull in surrounding air, creating a much quieter laminar flow. For instance, our Model 1210 Safety Air Gun, which features the Model 1100 Nozzle, operates at just 74dBA, well below the noise exposure limit for an 8-hour shift.

Model 1210 Soft Grip Safety Air is fitted with an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle. We can also supply it with a Rigid Extension and Chip Shield (right).

If you’re serious about compressed air safety, EXAIR’s range of safe, quiet, and efficient Safety Air Guns and Air Nozzles is an excellent option for your facility. Feel free to reach out if you want to chat about this or any other compressed air applications you might have!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Banner image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay