Author: Art Gib
Title: Safety Is Key When Working Around Self Dumping And Other Hoppers

Article: When hoppers and other types of bins are in regular use on a construction or other type of industrial site such as a mine, it is imperative that workers understand that they need to use specific safety practices when working around them. Although a self dumping hopper and other bins are wonderfully useful tools, everyone on site should be aware of the dangers that may be associated with them due to human carelessness. Here’s a little more about it.

Consequences Of Improper Hopper Or Bin Use

Every year, unnecessary accidents take place as a result of worker negligence around hoppers and bins. In fact, the construction industry reports that a dozen needless deaths occur every year. Here are examples of some of the things that can happen if care is not exercised:

– A person who enters a bin containing granular materials and is stuck only up to his knees will require help getting out; if he struggles, he is likely to sink deeper and be in worse trouble. It takes about 500 lbs of force to remove someone stuck up to his waist.

– Asphyxiation and death may occur even if a worker’s head is not submerged due to the pressure of the materials against his chest and diaphragm.

– Even if the container’s materials seem relatively stable, entering it to fix a clog or other problem may cause sudden loosening, sucking the worker down into the materials. Granulated materials flow extremely fast, making it virtually impossible for a worker to escape on his own.

Some Ideas For Greater Safety

– Make sure that all hoppers are equipped with mechanical safeguards that render it unnecessary for any worker to physically enter the container for any reason. This mechanism should be able to dislodge any clog on its own without exposing employees to undue risk. The controls for this device as well as any others should be far from the discharge end of the hopper.

– Provide suitable walkways around areas where hoppers are used so that workers are never put in a position of having to walk under or near discharge areas.

– When necessity demands that a worker be on or walking around the upper perimeter of a hopper when it is full, he should be equipped with a safety harness that will make it easier to pull him to safety should a mishap occur.

Self dumping hoppers and bins make working on industrial sites much more easy and convenient for all involved; a little continuing education on how to operate around them will make for a much safer and mishap-free site. Nationwide Industrial Supply (http://www.nationwideindustrialsupply.com) offers one of the largest selections of Materials Handling Equipment, like our Self Dumping Hoppers, Platform Trucks, Industrial Shelving and more. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com

Tagged with: •

Filed under: Healthy Home • Home Management

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!