Several hazards are top of mind when Durex Products’ Chad Hackett steps onto a jobsite.
He keeps an eye on the mobile equipment crossing his path, and is particularly mindful of the many moving parts present throughout a plant.
Elevation is another safety consideration for Hackett, whose company’s products include wire cloth and specialty screen media, wear parts and accessories that are sometimes present at heights within tall structures. Elevation is a natural hazard, but Hackett makes a point to do a visual assessment of a structure before setting foot on it.
“Structures are generally well-built and well-maintained when they’re new,” says Hackett, president of Durex Products. “As things age and you have rocks popping out, hitting guards and all that, it can result in failures.”
Regular vibration can cause a structure or parts of one to fail, Hackett adds. It’s not something those climbing onto structures should take for granted.
“Welds and fasteners break,” Hackett says. “Some of these structures aren’t as well-maintained and aren’t as sturdy as others. So when I’m walking on them, I’m looking at how this thing is attached. I’m paying a lot of attention to those kinds of things.”
Handling wire media
As a screen media manufacturer, Hackett is also well aware of the hazards associated with screen media and handling it.
Wire screen media, for example, presents a few common challenges. Parts of the media, of course, have sharp edges that can cause injury.
“If something slips, that sharp wire can slice right through even fairly decent leather gloves,” Hackett says. “In our manufacturing operation, the guys handling the edges of those woven screens – shearing and bending them – are using double-palm leather gloves, and they shoot through two or three pairs a day at times. If you grab something wrong and it moves, it’s extremely sharp.”
Replacing wire screens on an elevated structure that has space constraints is no easy task, either. Hackett advises workers take the necessary precautions when changing out wire screens, as accidents can happen.
“A lot of times, [workers] are in a hurry to change out media because it shuts down portions of their production line,” Hackett says. “The wire screen media panels aren’t relatively heavy compared to other things in the industry, but they’re still 300- to 350-pound handles.
“Between that weight and the awkwardness, it comes down to having enough guys there to handle these screens,” Hackett adds.
Final thought
Ultimately, Hackett believes most operations have safety covered when it comes to screening. Preventive maintenance (PM) programs that were put in place over the years are a big reason why, he says.
“Preventive maintenance and lean thinking are things we didn’t do much of 20 years ago,” Hackett says. “As that’s progressed through manufacturing and the production industries, those PM programs are by far the most important thing to keep equipment and the employees safe.”