2022 Safety Innovation Award Winners
Portland Cement Association’s (PCA) Safety Innovation Awards (SIA) reward creative solutions to safety challenges in cement facilities. Companies submit projects that PCA anonymizes for scoring by representatives from member companies, NGOs in the mining sector, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Entries are judged in five areas: innovation, ease of use and ease of construction, effectiveness, and risk prevention. The team chose four projects to receive the awards this year:
Employees at Ash Grove Cement Company’s Leamington, UT Plant devised a solution for locking out the tipping valve on the pre-heater tower. In the past, employees removed and re-attached a chain to the valve, which could cause hand injuries. They made a metal sleeve which slides over the arm where the chain is attached, and this allows the sleeve to be pulled back and secured, therein removing the step of attaching and re-attaching the chain.
Looking for innovative delivery systems for training employees in electrical safety, specifically lockout/tagout, the electrical department in the Montana City Plant designed and fabricated a breaker training station for both new and experienced employees. The device is equipped with a warning horn and indicator lights identifying running, ready, not ready, and fault. The station also has a remote toggle switch that simulates startup of the control room. Plexiglas construction allows participants to see the inner workings of the breaker.
To allow safe passage from one barge to another, the workforce at Nashville LSI designed and constructed a bridge walkway capable of rising and falling as the river rises and falls. A swivel hinge on one side works in tandem with tracks on the opposite side to allow the bridge to slide forward and back and up and down at different times as needed.
Containing condensate from rotary vane compressors was the objective for workers at the Monarch Cement Company when they installed isolation tanks throughout the plant to eliminate oil mist emanating from compressors. Oil mist and gas would exit the old system at 15-40 psi when ball valves were open, but the new process causes condensate to gravity flow, so the pressure factor is almost completely removed. Housekeeping is improved in all areas where the isolation tanks were installed.