I have seen over the years where OSHA inspectors has visited manufacturing plants for violations. One of the more common areas that they review are compressed air guns because many of them are very dangerous for Dead-End pressure and noise levels. All of EXAIR Safety Air Guns are OSHA compliant. But there is an additional OSHA guideline 1910.242(b) that deals with Chip guarding and shields for cleaning purposes. With these types of applications, EXAIR offers Chip Shields; either as an option with our Safety Air Guns; or as Chip Shields only, or as a Chip Shield kit. In this video, I will go over the Chip Shield Kits that will add a chip shield to your existing EXAIR Safety Air Gun.
Compressed air is a very versatile utility that can be used for applications in cooling products to cleaning off workspaces and products. That is where OSHA 1910.242(b) comes into play; this OSHA standard states that compressed air used for cleaning shall not be used except were reduced to less than 30 psi and then only with effective chip guarding and personal protective equipment. This standard is in place because in the event a dead end occurs, the static pressure at the main orifice can potentially force the high pressure air into someone’s bloodstream and cause an air embolism, which if left untreated can impede the flow of blood in the body and lead to a fatality.
Keeping that in mind there are two ways you can go about these cleaning applications and still stay in compliance with the OSHA standard. The first way is to regulate the air pressure in your pipe down to below 30 psig. But for the majority of applications this is not an effective solution as pressure does equate to the amount of force that can be produced from the system. The second solution is to use a nozzle that is engineered in a way the it cannot be dead ended. This means that the nozzle is designed in a way that no matter how hard you try the air coming out of the nozzle will be ejected into the atmosphere and not through skin.
The fins of the Super Air Nozzle allow air to escape and prevent dead-ending the nozzle.
Take EXAIR’s Air Nozzles for example, the fins and orifice placement are designed in a way that allows air escape air into the atmosphere. Once air has exited an orifice into atmospheric conditions the pressure becomes 0 psig but retains the velocity and higher volume from the higher compressed air inlet pressure which produces force.
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).
In addition, OSHA 1910.242(b) also talks about the use of effective chip guarding, which simply means some method or equipment shall be installed that prevents particles from flying back and hitting the operator. If you look EXAIR’s Safety air guns you will notice that we offer Chip Shields. By simply adding “-CS” to the end of a part number for a Safety Air Gun you can help prevent injuries from flying particles in blow off applications.
If you have any questions or want more information on compressed air safety and OSHA related standards. Give us a call, we have a team of application engineers ready to answer your questions and recommend a solution for your applications.
Cody Biehle Application Engineer EXAIR Corporation Visit us on the Web Follow me on Twitter Like us on Facebook
EXAIR offers 5 different styles of Safety Air Guns; Precision, VariBlast, Soft Grip, Heavy Duty and Super Blast. You can read more about the different styles of Safety Air Guns from a previous EXAIR blog “Not All Compressed Air Guns Are The Same” written by Justin Nichol. I will be targeting the accessories that can enhance the features of the EXAIR Safety Air Guns. These additions will make the Safety Air Guns more dynamic without sacrificing safety, efficiency, or durability.
Precision Safety Air Gun with Chip Shield eg. 1408SS-CS
OSHA 1910.242(b) requires chip guarding when compressed air is used for cleaning. EXAIR offers Chip Shields with our Safety Air Guns to meet this requirement. They are made from a polycarbonate disc which is practically unbreakable and protects the operator from any blow back of metal shavings or coolant. They come with a durable rubber grommet that squeezes onto the extensions and can be adjusted to maximize protection. We offer Chip Shields for the Precision, VariBlast, Soft Grip, and Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns with or without aluminum extensions.
Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun with extension. eg. 1350-72
For those far away targets and hard-to-reach areas, EXAIR offers aluminum extension pipes to attach to the Safety Air Guns. They can range from 6” (15 cm) to 72” (183 cm) in length. This light-weight and durable material allows for easy handling to reach high above your head or to span across unsafe areas. With the EXAIR air nozzles at the end, the blowing force is not sacrificed as the back pressure will generate a high velocity air stream. The aluminum extensions are offered with the Variblast, Soft Grip, and Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns. The Super Blast Safety Air Guns has the option for two different lengths of extensions, 3 feet (91cm) and 6 feet (183 cm).
Soft Grip Safety Air Gun with Stay Set Hose. eg. 1210-6SSH
In certain situations, you may need a way to blow air around a corner or in a tight space. The Stay Set Hose gives you that possibility of manually adjusting or re-adjusting the nozzles to target the correct areas. The hose has a “memory” function, and it will not creep or droop until you physically move it again. They come in lengths from 6” (15cm) to 36” (91cm), and they are offered with the Soft Grip and the Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns.
To get the proper amount of compressed air from the piping system to the Safety Air Guns, EXAIR offers a series of Coiled Hoses. They are made of a durable abrasion-resistant nylon material that is 12 feet long (3.6 meters). They have swivel fittings to allow for easy uncoiling, and a spring strain relief to keep the hose from kinking at the ends. The coiled design makes it easy to reach around the work area and retract back to the substation. This will help to keep the hose off the ground where potential dangers could occur. We offer 3 different connection sizes of 1/8” NPT, ¼” NPT, and 3/8” NPT. They can be used with our Precision, VariBlast, Soft Grip, and Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns. With the proper size, the Coiled Hoses can connect easily to the Safety Air Guns and supply the required amount of air with a minimal amount of pressure drop.
To improve the use of the Safety Air Guns, EXAIR offers a series of filters and regulators. The filters will remove dirty particles and liquid water from the compressed air that can affect the performance of the Safety Air Gun as well as contaminate the surface that you are cleaning. The regulators can control the amount of air pressure used for the Safety Air Gun; making them even more efficient. The idea for compressed air savings is to use the least amount of compressed air to do the job. If you only need 40 PSIG (2.8 Bar) to blow off an area, then you can save almost 40% of your compressed air as compared to doing that same job at 80 PSIG (5.5 Bar). The combination of a filter and regulator will allow you to control the proper amount of clean dry air to be used.
All of our Safety Air Guns are fitted with our engineered Air Nozzles which make them OSHA compliant for noise and dead-end pressure. With the accessories, you can optimize the use of the Safety Air Guns to better fit your application. If you need help in determine the correct Safety Air Guns and accessory items, you can contact an Application Engineer for help. If you are within the U.S. or Canada, you can take advantage of our 30-day unconditional guarantee to trial any of our stocked Safety Air Guns.
So, we are less than a week into the new year and here at EXAIR we are already releasing new products. That’s right folks, we have released the first product of the year. This product is an accessory for an existing product line. I present to you the EXAIR Chip Shield.
The Chip Shield can be purchased already installed on most of our Safety Air Guns and can also be retrofitted to existing EXAIR Safety Air Guns that you are already using. The Chip Shield helps to protect your operator from harmful debris blowing back at them from the part that’s being blown off. The shield is a polycarbonate construction and when used with an extension can be positioned at any point along the extension to meet individual application needs.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact an application engineer for help outfitting your Safety Air Gun with a Chip Shield.
