Safety and efficiency
Improving efficiency through conveyor safety MARTIN ENGINEERING PRESIDENT EMERITUS TODD SWINDERMAN EXAMINES HOW USING EQUIPMENT DESIGNED FOR SAFETY ALSO HELPS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY.
C
onveyors are among the most dynamic and potentially dangerous pieces of equipment in a mine
or quarry. Even though safety and performance of conveyors are critical to the operation’s success, their contribution to overall efficiency can be unrecognised by management and workers alike. As such, the operational basics of belt conveyor systems – regarding the hardware installed and the performance required from the components – are often a mystery to many employees. This knowledge gap also creates a safety gap.
DESIGNING FOR SAFETY
Since people are the single most important resource of any industrial
Martin guarding is designed to protect workers from reach-in injuries and unauthorised access.
operation, Australian work health and safety (WHS) standards continue to tighten. To meet these standards, the consensus among safety professionals is to design a hazard out of the component or system, which historically yields more cost-effective and durable results. Engineers often recommend operators retain an outside firm to examine requirements and design new equipment to address bulk handling safety and efficiency issues. Getting this kind of outside viewpoint can identify overlooked issues. Before the drafting phase, designers should: • establish the goals of reducing injuries and exposure to hazards (dust, spillage, etc) • increase conveyor uptime and productivity
• s eek more effective approaches to ongoing operating and maintenance challenges. Designs should be forward-thinking, which means exceeding compliance standards and enhancing operators’ ability to cost-effectively incorporate upgrades by taking a modular approach. This method alleviates several workplace hazards, minimises clean-up and maintenance, reduces unscheduled downtime, and extends the life of the belt and the system.
COMBINING SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY
To meet the demands for greater safety and improved production, some manufacturers have introduced equipment designs that are not only engineered for safer operation and servicing, but also reduced maintenance time. Examples if such equipment include the Martin QC1 Cleaner HD/XHD STS (Safe-to-Service) primary cleaner and the Martin SQC2S STS secondary cleaner, both of which are designed so the blade cartridge can be pulled away from the belt for safe access and replacement by a single worker. The same slide-out technology has been applied to impact cradle designs. Systems like the Martin slider cradle are engineered so operators can safely work on the equipment without breaking the plane of motion. External servicing reduces the need to
SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 50 JUL—AUG 2023