• Safety Innovations Awards

Safety Innovations Awards
Quarry | Milling/Grinding | Pyroprocessing | General Facility



Milling/Grinding

Ash Grove Cement Company
Durkee, Oregon

The Maintenance Department at this facility designed, fabricated, and installed a fast, simple, and convenient ventilation fan/door mounting arrangement to improve working conditions inside the raw mill during maintenance. The vertical roller mill could become very hot and dusty due to the limited ability to ventilate the confined space. A safety observation was conducted noting these conditions, and a plan was put together to improve ventilation within the space. It became immediately apparent that a powered ventilation fan would be needed. The major obstacle was finding a suitable location to mount the fan so that it would be effective. Further, the fan had to be easy to install and just as easy to remove at the start and end of the maintenance downtime period. The facility purchased an 18-in.-diameter axial fan for approximately $430. The fan was outfitted with a 1.5-hp motor and provides approximately 5,300 cfm. Maintenance technicians fabricated a dual-acting hinge doorframe system, which essentially has the inspection door mounted on one side of the doorframe, while the fan is hinged to the frame on the opposite side.

Buzzi Unicem USA Inc
Pryor, Oklahoma

This facility uses tires as an alternate fuel source. Factory reject tires often do not feed well and cause the feeder (Singulator) to plug. To alleviate the problem, employees working on the system are required to keep a soap solution on the feeder at all times. This soap solution helps keep the Singulator slick so that new tires feed more easily. Initially, employees had to climb stationary ladders and hang full drip jugs on each side of the unit, and then change out the jugs two to four times per shift. Two employees identified this activity as a potential safety concern and decided to address the issue themselves by fabricating an automatic unit that feeds the soap solution to the Singulator via water pressure. Scrap materials were used to construct the holding tank, along with in-stock hoses and couplings. The employees built the unit as time allowed. The system works well, and the tire attendants are happy with the safety improvement.

The Monarch Cement Company
Humboldt, Kansas

Fall protection was an immediate concern on the new mill installed at this facility. All other mills were built with a midlevel floor, allowing use of portable stairs with handrails to access the manhole covers, but the new mill does not have a mid-level, and the top of the mill is approximately 29 ft from the floor. This was a potential safety concern for employees working from ladders or stairs. A safety cable was installed above the mill, but having to wear a safety harness at all times caused problems for the workers trying to enter the manholes which have limited entry space. Also, having the cable installed over the middle of the mill created access problems for the workers. To address the situation, three lightweight, counter-balanced, hand-railed cages were made from aluminum tubing and installed so they could be lowered from the side platform built at the top of the mill. The 8- x 7-ft cages extend past the middle of the mill, giving the workers adequate room to remove the manhole covers and work on the top of the mill shell while inside the caged area. Workers are in a fully protected area at all times while doing their job.

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