Tag: safety

Sound Level of Cicadas

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

At the time of writing this blog, Cincinnati is experiencing our usual 17-year brood of cicadas. Millions, if not billions, of 17-year cicadas have emerged in Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio, making spending any amount of time outside unbearable. My four-year-old’s favorite part of the day is swinging on the back porch, and he even wants to go right back inside after just a few minutes.

I stuck the EXAIR 9104 Digital Sound Level Meter inside of one of our bushes here at the office. Within a 3′ radius, I counted 10–15 cicadas crawling around pretty casually. And they were producing a whopping 90 dBA! And if i shook a branch and really got them worked up, it peeked over 101 dBA.

Now while it takes repeated exposures of sufficient duration to cause hearing loss. And in a few weeks these cicadas will be gone; you probably don’t need to worry about the 2025 cicadas affecting your hearing. Noise exposure is, however, a real issue for most manufacturing facilities. Due to this risk, OSHA strictly enforces standard 29 CFR-1910.95(a).

This directive outlines the effects of noise and limits exposure based on the dBA. The table below indicates the maximum allowable exposure time to different noise levels. Sound levels that exceed these levels should first be addressed by proper engineering controls, such as isolating the source of the sound from personnel or replacing the cause of the sound with something like an engineered compressed air nozzle. When such controls aren’t feasible, proper PPE must be worn to protect the operator.

Hearing loss is the best known, but not the only, ill effect of harmful noise exposure. It can also cause physical and psychological stress, impair concentration, and contribute to workplace accidents or injuries.

Hearing loss can occur in as little as 30 minutes when exposed to sound levels of 110 dBA or greater. Operators have a tendency not to use PPE as directed. If an OSHA inspector comes to your facility and notices that the sound levels exceed the maximum allowable level without PPE protection being worn, hefty fines will soon be following. In this example from the United States Department of Labor, a company was fined a total of $143,000 for failing to protect their employees.

EXAIR 9104 Sound Level Meter

In order to identify the places or processes in your facility that are causing the problems, you’ll need a tool to measure the sound level. EXAIR’s easy-to-use Digital Sound Level Meter allows you to measure and monitor the sound level pressure in a wide variety of industrial environments. The source of the loud noise can then be identified and isolated so that corrective action can be taken. For compressed air-related noise, EXAIR manufactures a wide variety of engineered compressed air products that can reduce the sound level dramatically. In many cases, EXAIR products are capable of reducing noise levels by as much as 10 dBA. Since the dBA scale is logarithmic, this equates to cutting the sound level in half!

If there are processes within your facility that are above these limits, and you’d like to eliminate relying on proper PPE, give an Application Engineer a call. We’ll help walk you through the selection process and make sure that when the OSHA inspector comes knocking you’re prepared! Sorry, but we will not be able to help you with your Cicada problems. We just have to let nature do its thing, and they will be gone in a few weeks. Until 2027, that is, when we get hit with the 10-year brood!

Jordan Shouse, CCASS

Application Engineer

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Industrial Safety: Compressed Air

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

At EXAIR, we have a statement that says, “Safety is everyone’s responsibility.”  EXAIR builds its name around manufacturing safe and protective compressed air products.  In the United States, we have an organization called the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that enforces governmental directives for safe and healthy working environments.  They do training, outreach programs, and educational assistance for manufacturing plants to reduce injuries and fatalities.  They can also enforce these directives with heavy fines for violations.  With compressed air systems, the two most common violations are 29CFR 1910.242(b) for dead-end pressure/chip shielding and 29CFR 1910.95(a) for maximum allowable noise exposure.

Unsafe Nozzle

Here is an example of a nozzle that is dangerous.  As you can see, there is only one path where the air can pass through.  Other similar types of blow-off devices that would fall into this same group would include copper tubes, flexible lines, and open pipes.  They are dangerous as compressed air cannot escape if it is blocked by your body or skin.  If operated above 30 PSIG (2 bar), these nozzles could penetrate the skin and create an air embolism within the body, which can cause bodily harm or death.  This is a hazard that can be avoided by using EXAIR Super Air Nozzles and Safety Air Guns.  The nozzles are designed with fins, which allow the air to escape and cannot be blocked by your skin.  So, you can use the EXAIR Super Air Nozzles safely above 30 PSIG (2 bar) and remain OSHA compliant.

Unsafe Air Gun

To counteract the dead-end pressure violation, some nozzle manufacturers create a hole through the side of the nozzle (reference photo above).  This will allow the compressed air to escape, but now the issue is noise levels.  With an “open” hole in the nozzle, the compressed air is very turbulent and very loud.  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states that 70% to 80% of all hearing loss within a manufacturing plant is caused by compressed air.  OSHA created a chart to show the maximum allowable noise exposure.  This chart shows the exposure time and noise limits before hearing protection is required.  The EXAIR Super Air Nozzles, Super Air Knives, and Super Air Amplifiers are designed to have laminar flow, which makes them very quiet.  As an example, the model 1210 Soft Grip Safety Air Gun has a sound level of only 74 dBA, well under the noise exposure limit for 8 hours.

One of the last things that companies think about when purchasing compressed air products is safety.  Loud noises and dead-end pressure can be missed or forgotten.  To avoid any future fines or having to purchase additional personal protective equipment (PPE), it will be much safer to purchase EXAIR products.  If you would like to improve the safety of your facility and reduce energy costs, an Application Engineer at EXAIR can review your current blow-off devices.  Remember, safety is everyone’s responsibility. 

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Photo: Industrial Security Signal by DavidRockDesign.  Pixabay license

What’s So Great About EXAIR Air Jets?

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

For over 40 years now, EXAIR has been making engineered Air Nozzles and Air Jets for a wide range of industrial and commercial applications. Basically, if you need to blow air onto, into, towards, or through something, we’ve got something for that.

Our Super Air Nozzles seem to “get all the press” (based on an unscientific survey of the EXAIR Blog), and maybe they should, with their ease of installation onto the end of a pipe or tube that someone who’s never thought about the cost of compressed air has been using as a cheap to make but expensive to operate blowoff.

Compression fittings and Model 1100 Super Air Nozzles transformed the part ejection from “loud and wasteful” to “quiet and efficient.”

Like our engineered Super Air Nozzles, our Air Jet products use the Coanda effect to entrain enormous amounts of free air from the surrounding environment. While the Super Air Nozzles do this via an array of small holes recessed between a series of fins, the Air Jet uses an internal annular ring nozzle to draw the free air through its throat. There are a number of applications where either a Super Air Nozzle or an Air Jet can be used efficiently, safely, and quietly. Some jobs, however, benefit from the specific design of one or the other. Since this is an Air Jets blog, I’m going to focus on them:

  • Powerful, directed air stream. This makes EXAIR Air Jets ideal for part ejection, chip removal, and part drying.
Model 6013 Brass High Velocity Air Jet (left) blows rinse water off beverage cans on a high speed conveyor. An array of Model 6013SS SS High Velocity Air Jets (right) dries a finned component after washing.
  • Reliable and efficient blowoff. With no moving parts, as long as you supply them with clean compressed air, they’ll operate darn near indefinitely, maintenance free. And they’ll use a LOT less of that compressed air than similarly sized open-ended blowoff devices too, thanks to engineering:
Compressed air enters through the 1/8 MNPT fitting and discharges into the throat via an annular ring gap, where the Coanda profile of the plug directs the air towards the jet outlet (1). This primary, high velocity flow pulls in air from the entrainment plenum (2), creating a total developed flow up to 25 times the compressed air flow (3).
  • Safe to use. EXAIR Air Jets, like the rest of our Intelligent Compressed Air Products, are compliant with OSHA Standard 1910.242(b) which limits the downstream pressure at the nozzle or opening of a compressed air device used for cleaning purposes to 30psi. If you cover the entire outlet opening, the air simply flows out the entrainment plenum.
  • Remote positioning. Since both the inlet and outlet can be ducted, you can fit a 1″ ID hose over the entrainment plenum and run the other end to the location where you want to draw airflow from. This is beneficial if, for example, you want to position the Air Jet in a contaminated area, but want to eliminate any of that contamination from the Air Jet’s developed airflow. You can also fit a 1/2″ ID hose over the outlet to direct the airflow elsewhere.
  • Adjustability. For the Adjustable Air Jet, it’s right there in the name: the Plug can be threaded into, or out of, the body to reduce, or increase the annular ring nozzle’s gap, and hence, the airflow and force applied. There’s a micrometer gap indicator so you can set – and reset – the performance to different levels, as required. The High Velocity Air Jet’s annular ring nozzle gap is fixed with a shim (they come with a 0.015″ thick shim installed) but Shim Sets, containing one each of a 0.006″ and 0.009″ thick shim, can be used to make gross adjustments to the airflow and force applied. You can regulate the air supply pressure to either the Adjustable or High Velocity Air Jets to very precisely “dial in” the performance.
A 0.006″ or 0.009″ thick shim from the 6313 Air Jet Shim Set (top left) can be installed in a High Velocity Air Jet (bottom left) to put the Air Jet in a whole new performance band. You can do this to an Adjustable Air Jet (right) by turning the knurled ring on the plug to set (and reset) the air gap and hence the performance.
  • Materials of construction. Both the Adjustable and High Velocity Air Jets come in brass for general purpose applications, or 303SS for use in areas with high heat or corrosive elements in the environment.
The brass Air Jets (top) are rated for installation in areas with ambient temperatures up to 275°F, while the 303SS models (bottom) are good to 400°F.

If you’d like to find out more about EXAIR Air Jets, or how any of our Intelligent Compressed Air Products can help you get the most out of your compressed air system, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Creating a Safer Environment for Industries

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

EXAIR has been at the forefront of safety and efficiency when it comes to blow-off devices since 1983.  We understand the importance of keeping personnel and the workplace safe.  Controlling an employee’s exposure to hazards is a fundamental method of protecting them. The CDC published a useful guide called “Hierarchy of Controls” detailing five types of control methods as a means to implement effective solutions.

  • Elimination
  • Substitution
  • Engineering controls
  • Administrative controls
  • Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Elimination:

Elimination removes the hazard from the source.  Elimination is at the top of the chart because it is the best way to protect workers.  In my previous line of work, we had to use MEK to dilute a solvent-based epoxy.  By switching over to a water-based epoxy, we were able to eliminate the chemical hazard from our process.  In some situations, this can be a difficult task, but the elimination criteria should be the first thing to review.

Substitution:

Substitution is looking for a different but safer modification to the source of the hazard.  An example would be static elimination.  If we take into consideration an ionization bar to remove static, there are manufacturers that make “hot” bars that will shock the operator if they get too close to the ionizing point.  EXAIR Gen4 Ionizing Bars are shockless.  By substituting the “hot” bars with EXAIR Gen4 Ionizing Bars, you just removed the shock hazard for your operators.  When considering substitution, it is important to compare the new risk of the replacement to the original risk.  Remember, we are trying to reduce the potential effects of injuries. 

The CDC explains these first two methods with this statement, “Elimination and substitution can be the most difficult actions to adopt into an existing process. These methods are best used at the design or development stage of a work process, place, or tool.  At the development stage, elimination and substitution may be the simplest and cheapest options.  Another good opportunity to use elimination and substitution is when selecting new equipment or procedures.  Prevention through Design is an approach to proactively including prevention when designing work equipment, tools, operations, and spaces.”1

Engineering Controls:

Engineering controls are very common.  Companies can evaluate an area for hazards and address them with proven controls.  This can be as simple as adding light curtains to a stamping machine.  Another area would be using compressed air for blow-off applications.  EXAIR has been providing engineered products to reduce these hazards.  We offer Safety Air Nozzles, Safety Air Guns, Super Air Knives, and Air Amplifiers to reduce the noise level and dead-end pressure as found in the OSHA directives 29CFR 1910.65(a) for maximum allowable noise exposure and 29CFR 1910.242(b) for dead-end pressure/chip shielding.  By adding an engineered nozzle like our Super Air Nozzle over an open pipe, it will protect your workers, stop OSHA fines, and reduce energy costs. 

Administrative Controls:

These controls will move personnel or change the process to limit the length of exposure time to the hazard.  As you notice, this is toward the bottom of the hierarchy chart as one of the least effective ways for dealing with a hazard.  As an example, an operator is exposed to a blow-off application that has a noise level of 95 dBA.  The maximum exposure time allowed by OSHA is 4 hours.  So, another operator would have to be placed in that area to work another 4 hours.  But, if the company added a Super Air Nozzle to the blow-off device, then the noise level would be reduced to 74 dBA.  Now, you can have one operator run the machine for the full 8 hours.  

PPE:

Personal Protection Equipment, or PPE, is equipment that is purchased to help protect the operators from hazards.  What may the problem be?  First, you have to train the operators on how to properly use them, as well as trust that they will follow the instructions explicitly.  It also adds cost to purchase and maintain them.  This is why this method is the least effective. 

At EXAIR, we have a statement: “Safety is everyone’s responsibility.”  The idea behind the NOSH hierarchy is to help review hazardous areas and implement safer products.  EXAIR can help your company follow the Hierarchy of Controls, to eliminate or reduce the hazards of compressed air usage.  Many EXAIR products, including Super Air Knives, Super Air Nozzles, Safety Air Guns, and Air Amplifiers are engineered to meet OSHA standards. If you have questions or want to talk to an EXAIR Application Engineer, please contact us to discuss how our products will be beneficial to your work environment’s safety. 

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Note 1: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hierarchy/default.html

Picture:  Safety First by Succo.  Pixabay License