Product category:
Personal protective equipment (PPE), devices
News Release from: Meech International | Subject: Static electricity - avoid the shocks
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 August 2002
Dealing with the hidden dangers of
static build-up
Dealing with the hidden dangers of static electricity in the workplace - Steve Pheasant examines some of the issues surrounding this frequently underestimated physical force.
Static electricity is a phenomenon that has been recognised for a thousand years, is experienced by everyone, but understood by very few Because of its very ordinariness, all too often the dangers of static discharge in the workplace, on the factory floor or in the assembly shop are ignored, sometimes with very serious consequences
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 4 Dec 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Spark-free generator bars eliminate flash-over
The new 991R and 993R DC spark-free generator bars from Meech greatly improve operator safety by eliminating the incidences of flash-over.
Eliminate static in packaging
Leeds-based company Packaging Options, provider of innovative packaging solutions to the UK and Irish markets, recommends the use of Meech static elimination products to all its customers.
There have been instances of employees being absent on sick leave for many weeks as a direct consequence of receiving static shocks.
Although these are exceptional cases, many employees in factories and workplaces across the UK receive shocks that are severe enough to literally make them jump.
That unintended, reflex action can have serious consequences for example, dropping a breakable or heavy object, coming into contact with working machinery, falling, slipping or in some other way injuring the person who has received the shock or his/her colleagues.
Further reading
Bars reduce static and packaging machine delays
Shockless AC ionising bars have been designed to reduce packaging machine downtimes and the dangers associated with static in the workplace.
Plastics parts surpass japanese quality standards
To satisfy the very demanding, Japanese market for medical and pharmaceutical products a UK plastics moulder has installed static control devices to ensure particle free products.
Eliminator wrapped up food packing static problem
When a food arapping facility experienced productivity problems, the cause was tracked down to static in the wrapping films - quickly solved by using a static eliminator system.
These direct, personal injuries are in addition to the general dissatisfaction, lowering of morale and loss of productivity that working in an environment that is prone to static shock produces.
Static charges build up principally through the processes of friction and separation.
As the pressure or speed of contact and separation increases, so the static charge increases.
Items that are being moved at high speed on conveyor belts for example can quickly develop a charge in excess of 25,000V, enough to throw an adult off his feet.
Shocks to employees can occur in two ways.
Firstly, personnel can receive shocks from extremely highly charged material as it discharges through them to earth.
Secondly, operators can themselves become charged by handling or being in close proximity to highly charged materials.
When the operator is presented with a path to earth (usually by touching a metal object or a machine frame), they discharge violently, often believing that they have received a mains shock.
At Meech, the safety of our clients' workforce is of paramount importance.
Whenever we are asked to advise companies on the various available methods of eliminating static in their workplace, we first ensure that a safe working environment is created and then, within that environment, we look at ways to increase the efficiency of the production process by the correct control of static.
Examples of companies that have been successfully using static elimination systems to increase both staff safety and productivity for many years are Marden Edwards and Robinsons Plastic Packaging.
Marden Edwards manufactures overwrapping and banding systems.
"Static charge could give rise to production problems for our customers," explained Gordon Clamp, design manager.
Naturally, any process disturbance must be avoided, because the wrapping machines are operated at high speed as part of production lines where as many as 400 packs/minute may be wrapped.
Interruptions to production have serious consequences on the integrity of the entire process.
"Meech ionising bars have been incorporated into our machines for more than 25 years," continued Clamp, "And we have found them to be entirely satisfactory.
Our clients rely on us to provide a solution designed to perfectly suit their needs.
That includes eliminating any potential problems of static before they occur".
Robinson Plastic Packaging supplies moulded plastic products to customers such as Procter and Gamble, Northern Foods and Kraft Foods.
The company is constantly looking at ways to increase productivity and reduce wastage.
The elimination of static from its moulded products has been successful in both respects.
Where the per annum production for a single product can be counted in the hundreds of millions, reliable, automated and uninterrupted processes are vital.
Commented Robinson's technical director, David Fletcher: "The elimination of static using a variety of technologies, including ionising air curtains and static elimination bars, helps us keep our production lines running smoothly producing products in the time-scales and to the quality that our clients have come to expect".
* About the author - Steve Pheasant is marketing director of Meech Static Eliminators. Request a free brochure from Meech International ...
• Meech International: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
