Photographs to help Safety at Work
| Published date | 01 March 1982 |
| Date | 01 March 1982 |
| Pages | 16-18 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057239 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Photographs to help Safety at Work
R. G. Warwick, Chief Engineer of the National Vulcan
Engineering Insurance Group, maintains that independent
inspection services for machinery not only result in con-
sistently high levels of plant performance and safety but
are,
at the same time, cost effective as well as helping in-
dustrial management to meet the requirements of the
Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974.
The Vulcan surveyor force, at Mr Warwick's instiga-
tion, have taken photographs of defects on all types of
plant and equipment. These photographs now provide a
useful record highlighting failures. Examples of these
photographs appear on the following two pages.
Minor defects, if unnoticed, develop and
cause serious failures and perhaps accidents
As Mr Warwick points out, "Even minor defects in
plant and equipment can, if unnoticed, develop and cause
serious failures which in turn means lost production and
potentially dangerous accidents. Our engineer surveyors'
experience and training enables them to detect these minor
defects, enabling our clients to strengthen the case that
they have taken all reasonable practical steps to meet the
legal requirements to maintain a working environment
which is safe and does not endanger life and limb. This is a
general duty under Sections 2 and 4 of the Health and
Safety at Work etc Act 1974."
As a result of the survey research, National Vulcan ad-
vise all industrial managers to ask these crucial questions:
(1) Maintenance — is new and secondhand plant
receiving thorough and regular visual inspection
and overhaul?
(2) Parts — are we matching different manufacturers
products to renew worn parts and if so, have we
checked for absolute compatibility?
(3) Repairs — are we using outside maintenance
teams and if so, are they capable and properly
qualified?
(4) Stocks — are we checking on-site stock areas for
damp,
and the stock itself for corrosion and other
defects caused by damp housing?
Mr Warwick explains, "Since photographs were taken
by only
6
per cent of our total engineer surveyor force, our
work has touched only the tip of the iceberg. But it is clear
that inspection by experienced independent engineers
locates plant dangers often missed by routine maintenance
procedures — potential hazards such as weld failure due to
fatigue at stress concentrations, the results of inattention
to detail during manufacture or defects produced by poor
repair.
"National Vulcan believe that some of the most effec-
tive non-destructive examination techniques are the oldest,
namely the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and
even, in some cases, taste. Unusual sound or vibration felt
by hands or feet from running plant gives early warning of
trouble. Many serious failures of three phase squirrel cage
motors due to single phasing have been prevented by the
smell of overheated insulation. But NV engineer surveyors
spend most of their inspecting time looking for the signs of
potential weakness and potential failure of plant, listening
to running machinery and feeling for overheating and
vibration which are tell-tale signs of trouble to come.
There is no finer instrument in the world for sensing trou-
ble in running plant than the experienced engineer
himself."
Unions and Management Working Together
The Construction (Lifting Operations) Regulations Act
1961 calls for thorough visual inspection of plant and
equipment by law. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act
1974 is a major influence in industry today, with union
members actively involved in safety committee work, side
by side with management. One duty of the industrial safety
committee is to organise effective safety training — train-
ing which incorporates an appreciation of the need for
diligent maintenance.
National Vulcan have found that logged maintenance
does not necessarily mean thorough maintenance. The in-
spection of plant and equipment should include ropes and
their anchorages, hooks, blocks, pulleys, pins, trolleys,
tracks, motors, controllers, safe load indicators, limit swit-
ches,
brakes and clutches, winch mechanisms, and equip-
ment structures.
The most effective examination techniques
are the oldest, namely the five senses:
sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste
Equipment does not have to be arduously worked to
become faulty; light or medium duties subject components
to the same basic stresses, and call for equal maintenance.
Lack of lubrication, or use of contaminated lubricants,
can also cause defects in machinery; incorrect bolt hole
alignment drillings can cause cracks and fractures to rigid
plating; misalignment can put the most reliable and pro-
ductive equipment out of order. Thorough visual inspec-
tion, together with non-destructive testing where necessary
and proof load testing following major repairs, will ensure
as far as it is reasonably practicable, that equipment is safe
for further use.
A special issue of NV's Vigilance entitled "Keeping
plant and equipment healthy for your safety" is issued by
National Vulcan Engineering Insurance Group Ltd, St
Mary's Parsonage, Manchester M60 9AP. Assistance is
available from Fred Jackson, Technical Services Adviser,
telephone 061-834 8124 or from any National Vulcan
branch office.
16 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT + DATA SYSTEMS
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