The Core of Safety Tech

Photo Credit: Milwaukee Tool Corp. BY KEVIN GEE « POWER TOOLS

According to the National Safety Council, 105 million days were lost in 2019 due to workrelated injuries. While workers want to feel safe and physically confident on the job, this can be a challenge with core drilling. No matter how experienced a user is, the core drilling process is almost always dreaded. Rotary hammers and core drills can bind up when drilling through rebar or hard aggregate, causing the tool to rotate, and results in loss of control and potentially serious injuries—from broken wrists to wounds needing stitches.

Safety Technology, such as seen in Milwaukee’s MX FUEL Core Drill AUTOSTOP technology helps protect workers. It reduces kickback during bind-up situations with engineered set points to automatically stop running when thresholds are reached for a specific amount of time. AUTOSTOP systems contain an internal gyroscope that monitors angular momentum and uses onboard sensors to remove power from the motor before it rotates more than 45 degrees. At that engineered limit, the equipment will no longer fight the user. Safety Technology like AUTOSTOP along with the Core Drill’s side handle, helps address the risk of rotation, reducing the chances workers will be thrown off a ladder, lose teeth, break bones, etc.

Inhaling crystalline silica dust particles can increase your risk of developing silica-related diseases such as lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease. Dust can be managed by either extracting it with an extractor or by suppression using the onboard water connection.

While elimination and substitution rank at the top of the NIOSH hierarchy, new solutions focused on Safety Technology are often some of the most impactful. Safety Technology is part of a larger jobsite evolution that’s changing the way work gets done. New and safer batteryoperated solutions redefine light equipment, including core drills. These solutions offer user-driven designs, including Engineering Controls that supply safety, productivity, and ease of use.

Kevin Gee is the group product manager for Milwaukee Tool Corp.

Adapted from

ForConstructionPros.com/ 21659878.

GRIT100%

When the world stopped, you kept going. Adapting. Giving a master class in resilience and being an essential worker. Now, celebrate how far you’ve come and discover the innovation helping our community evolve, endure, and thrive. Part knowledge, part equipment, part connections—World of Concrete is 100% of what you need to keep grinding it out through disruptions to the supply chain, safety and beyond. Get your hands on advanced technology, machinery, and tools, access the newest training and techniques in concrete and masonry, and build momentum for another unstoppable year. GO ALL IN: www.worldofconcrete.com

EXHIBITS: JANUARY 18-20, 2022 EDUCATION: JANUARY 17-20

LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 CONCRETE CONTRACTOR 53