Tag: Workplace Safety

Compressed Air Safety in Industrial Environments: Key Risks and Best Practices

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

Compressed air powers tools, equipment, and cleaning processes in many facilities—but it can also cause serious injuries, damage equipment, and disrupt operations when used improperly. Here is a concise look at the main hazards and the practices that reduce risk.

Common compressed air hazards

  • High-pressure injection and flying debris: Air blasts can propel chips and dust into eyes and skin; air can also enter the body through cuts or openings and cause life-threatening injury.
  • Excessive noise: Blow-off and open pipes can exceed safe sound levels, contributing to permanent hearing loss and making communication harder.
  • Whipping hoses and failed fittings: A loose or damaged hose can detach and strike workers with significant force.
  • Contaminants in the air stream: Oil, water, and particulates can affect product quality, degrade tools, and create health risks in certain applications.

OSHA note: blow-off pressure limits

OSHA Standard 1910.242(b) requires compressed air used for cleaning to be reduced to less than 30 PSI at the nozzle when dead-ended (blocked), and to be used with effective chip guarding and appropriate PPE. Meeting this requirement is a baseline for a safe compressed air program.

Many facilities meet these standards by using engineered nozzles and safety air guns (for example, from EXAIR or similar manufacturers) that limit dead-end pressure, reduce noise, and improve blow-off efficiency.

Best practices checklist

  • Use engineered nozzles/air guns: Replace open pipes and improvised nozzles; choose designs that limit dead-end pressure and reduce noise.
  • Control debris: Use chip guards/shields and direct blow-off away from people and walkways.
  • Manage hoses: Secure connections, route hoses to prevent kinks and trip hazards, inspect routinely, and use whip checks where appropriate.
  • Wear the right PPE: Eye protection is essential; add hearing protection where noise is elevated; use gloves/protective clothing as the task requires.
  • Follow safe procedures: Never point compressed air at anyone or use it to clean clothing; depressurize lines before maintenance; train operators and post clear signage.
  • Maintain the system: Keep filters/dryers/lubricators serviced and repair leaks to improve safety and reduce energy waste.

The Bottom Line

Compressed air is essential—but it is not risk-free. When you pair OSHA-aligned pressure control with engineered tools, hose management, PPE, training, and routine maintenance, you reduce injuries, cut down time, and keep operations running safely.

Neal Raker, Application Engineering Manager
nealraker@exair.com

EXAIR Line Vac Replaces Yet Another Injury-Prone Bucket & Ladder Operation

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I recently had the pleasure of talking with a caller from a consulting firm that specializes in improved ergonomics.  They work with clients on everything from preventing carpal tunnel syndrome through the use of things like gel-filled mouse pads for office personnel, to preventing injuries in the workplace due to repetitive strain, heavy lifting, and other physically demanding tasks.  They called about an operation where workers used buckets to move 150 pounds of dense pellets from a large container into a smaller vessel for weight load testing.  After the test, they move the pellets back into the container, where they stay until the next test is to be run.  Then they do it again.

This, of course, was a great fit for a 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac and a 10ft length of Conveyance Hose. They simply move the suction & discharge hoses from, and to, the storage container & test vessel.  Risk of injury is greatly reduced, as the whole Line Vac conveyance system is less than half the weight of one bucket of the material.

Line Vac + Hose + Compressed air supply = complete conveyance system solution.

This is just the latest success story in the long history of EXAIR Air Operated Conveyors.  They’re on the shelf in a range of sizes and materials of construction to meet most any need.  If you don’t see what you’re looking for, though, call me and we can discuss your needs.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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EXAIR Leads the Way with Standards and Certifications

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

For over 34 years, EXAIR has been the industry leader in providing Intelligent Compressed Air Products to the industrial marketplace. While much of our focus is to ensure our products are engineered to provide optimal performance, we are also dedicated to manufacturing products that meet a wide range of standards and directives to promote safety in relation to plant personnel.

 

For instance, all of our compressed air operated products meet or exceed OSHA Standards 29 CFR 1910.242(b), requiring that the outlet pressure of an open pipe, nozzle, air gun, etc., when used for cleaning purposes, must remain below 30 PSI when dead-ended against the skin, as well as Standard 29 CFR 1910.95(a) as a way to protect workers from job related injuries related to dangerous sound levels of 90 dBA and higher.

 

 


Many of our products are also CE Compliant, meeting the mandatory requirements for products intended to be sold in the European Economic Area or “EEA”. For example our Electronic Flow Control and Electronic Temperature Control (ETC) meet the EU (European Union) Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC.

 

 

EXAIR electrically powered devices, like our Static Eliminators and Digital Flowmeters for example, comply with the “Restriction of Hazardous Substances” or RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU, including the amendment outlined in the European Commission decision L 214/65.

 

 

We are also committed to providing material that supports the conflict mineral free rule to help aid in the relief of illegal trade of exotic materials, like tungsten, gold, tin and tantalum in the DRC region. Using the CMRT 4.20 template, we document our supply resources to ensure we provide conflict free products, as outlined in Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

 

Lastly, the European Union introduced the REACH program – Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals, as a method to register chemical substances being imported into the EU to protect people and the environment, per Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 Title I, Article 3.  Also noted in the program, Title II, Article 7, they state that any product with a substance intended to be released under normal operating conditions, must be registered for quantities totaling more than 1 metric ton per year. Since EXAIR products do not intentionally release or contain any such substances, registration to meet the program is not required.

 

If you have any questions about any of these Standards or Directives or about which EXAIR products comply, please feel free to contact an application engineer for assistance. We’d be happy to help!

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

Safe Trip

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

Just getting back in the swing of things after being on vacation last week. My family, along with my mother, went on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise which included 3 days at sea and 3 days at different ports. Our port stops included the Bahamas, San Juan Puerto Rico and the island of St. Maarten. My wife and I have cruised several times and have already visited these islands, but with this cruise being our son’s and my mother’s first, we thought we would try to experience some different things.

Our last port was St. Maarten, where “we” (my wife and mother) planned our day of shopping and having an authentic lunch at a local restaurant. With the shopping portion of the day complete, we started asking locals for a good place to have lunch. We met a local who ran his own taxi company and recommended we have lunch at Maho Beach but it was going to be a 20 minute taxi ride. When we arrived, for some reason the area seemed somewhat familiar and then it hit me…. I’ve seen this place on TV! Their airport sits right on the edge of the island and arriving and departing planes basically fly right over your head while sitting at the restaurant/bar or swimming at the beach.

People line up along the road and fence line and wait for the next plane (the restaurant/bar has arrival and departure screens and will yell out when a large commercial jetliner is approaching), making it a very crowded area. Due to the potential jet blast coming from the engines there are safety signs posted that people ignore. I did ask one of the restaurant/bar managers if safety is such a concern, then why do they allow people to line up and he said “all they can do is warn people, if they want to subject themselves to injury, then that’s on them”. I don’t want to see anyone getting hurt, but I must admit, it is a little humorous to see people get blown all over the beach. Needless to say, we stood a good distance away.

St Maarten02_Maho Beach38Safety signmaho-beach-st-maarten

In all seriousness, safety should be a primary concern. Is your plant currently practicing safety when dealing with compressed air? Open pipes, tubes or drilled pipe can consume large amounts of compressed air, and exceed the pressure and noise level thresholds outlined by OSHA. And we are all aware that personnel don’t always abide by the safety rules – much like ignoring a safety sign.

At EXAIR, our customer’s safety is of utmost importance. All of our intelligent compressed air products meet or exceed the OSHA standard 1910.242(b) for safety.  This means that you can still operate the devices at 80 psig while not having to worry about an operator injuring themselves with the compressed air.  This is not just for one product line, but ALL of the compressed air products that we manufacture.

EXAIR products also meet or exceed the OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.95(a) for maximum allowable noise exposure levels.   The chart for allowable noise level exposure is below. Occupational hearing loss is a serious issue in manufacturing, in fact, it is the most commonly recorded illness is manufacturing. Engineering controls, like replacing open air lines with engineered air nozzles, are one of the top recommendations to solve the problem. Engineering controls can effectively eliminate the problem of people forgetting, refusing, or ignoring safety processes.

OSHA Noise Level

By implementing the EXAIR engineered solutions into your facility you can effectively lower the noise level cause by unsafe compressed air blow offs and possibly eliminate the need for hearing protection all together.   In my experience any time an operator doesn’t need to wear hearing protection or you can make their surrounding environment a little quieter, they tend to be a little happier which, always leads to better production. Again, many resources back this up, loud noise can also create physical and psychological stress.

These are just two of the standards that EXAIR will never take a vacation on.   Every product that EXAIR designs must be safe for operator operations, whether that be through pressure output or through the noise level it creates.

Contact one of our applications engineers to see how we may be able to improve similar safety concerns at your facility.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN