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- - By aevald (*****) Date 05-17-2006 14:49
Hello All, I do see that they added the section that I hoped they would. I now have to figure out the way this new format works and get used to it. I hope to start posting some items here shortly and I hope others will too. Regards, aevald
Parent - - By thcqci (***) Date 05-17-2006 20:34
I agree.  I am looking forward to seeing the contributions here. 

One other thing that I would like to see on this forum is a Safety Section also for those of us who also deal with safety in our companies (something we should all be concerned with!). 

That said, this forum used to be an quick stop every day or every couple of days.  I find myself spending more working hours here than I really can afford.  But that is because all the contributions are so good.  Keep up the good work and thanks for the quality contributions guys (and gals).
Parent - By barbier (***) Date 05-17-2006 20:38
Safety is a touchy subject here at AWS, due to the Fume Litigations that have been going on.  I will double-check, but I'm not sure if we want to put an actual section on an AWS Based Forum dedicated to Safety.  Simply put, it could be perceived that we are condoning in some way what is said in the posted topics.  I don't think a string of posts dedicated to the topic of Safety gives the same impression.

I'll check with the appropriate channels, and if there are no outstanding legal implications, we'll do it.

Thanks,
CB
Parent - - By jwright650 (*****) Date 05-17-2006 20:41
Hi Doug,
I share in your concerns about Safety, partly due to my title here at our company.(Quality Control / Safety Manager)
We just got off of a 10hr/day, 7 day/wk schedule that has lasted since Oct of 05, our guys are tired and now I'm seeing silly accidents all too frequently.
Parent - - By thcqci (***) Date 05-17-2006 21:13
We have recently gotten off some long hours/days too.  But our safety record has no lost time accidents for almost 2 years.  That is partially hard work and partially luck (but I don't precisely know what the correct ratio is).  We have been pushing safety strongly here for over 2 years since we had a particularly bad year.  I am blessed to work for a large Design/Build company so our steel shop is not a stand alone company with no corporate support.  Last fall I accepted the Safety Coordinator position (in addition to my duties in QA/QC) so we would have on-site safety representation instead of the corporate safety department sending a guy over once a year.  I never dreamed that it would take so much of my time and efforts.  I have spent almost 20 years in QA/QC related duties but am a rookie in the (official) safety related duties.  God sure has a sense of humor putting me in this position after all the years and thoughts I have had about safety guys.  What goes around comes around!  Repayment for my sins!  Needless to say, I have a new found respect for safety people!

Anyone who has a safety program that they would be willing to share with me, please feel free to contact me.  As I author our written safety program, I am looking for a template that would be applicable for a structural steel fabricator.  I have a couple of templates, but there is a lot that is not applicable for us and a lot left out that should be there.  I would be grateful for any help as I continue my education in the safety field.
Parent - - By jwright650 (*****) Date 05-18-2006 13:04
Mornin' Doug,
Check your email...you have a package awaiting. Hope you find it useful in getting you started creating a Safety Manual for your Company.;-)
Parent - - By thcqci (***) Date 05-18-2006 13:27
Got it , THANKS!!!
Parent - - By jwright650 (*****) Date 05-18-2006 13:34
Let me know what you think once you have had time to look through it some. I have also developed "best practices" or "safety guidelines" for the different departments(ie. shipping, receiving, material handling, saw operation, beamline operation, etc)....Need any of that type material?
-John
Parent - - By Bill M (***) Date 05-18-2006 17:12
Our 3/32" dia FCAW wire generates extreme smoke.  I am interested in learning how you other guys are handling smoke problems.  We can evacuate the shop air well enough, but put an air sampling pump under the hood where the welders head lives in real life, (near the smoke plume) and we have problems.  The welders wear fresh air supply masks now, but we would like to try and engineer out the problem.
Parent - By jwright650 (*****) Date 05-18-2006 17:24
Bill,
We just use fresh dilution and so far have had many air samplings where we didn't even get up to the minimums to be measurable. Make sure the welder gets the collection filter up under his/her shield where they live, because if they have it clipped on the outside(ie.shirt pocket) it will never work out. Our shop is fairly open...long bays/high ceilings w/ roof vents all along the ridge of each bay. The only days we see any concern are on foggy mornings where the air just hangs around and doesn't move and we have to cut on the exhaust fans at the ends of the bays to get it moving.
Parent - By TimGary (****) Date 05-19-2006 12:24
I recently learned that using 95% Ar / 5% CO2  (AC-5) sheilding gas reduces fume levels and that Hobart Brothers has been working on low fume generating wires for a while now which accentuate the AC-5 use. When I asked about their products, Hobart responded with the following:

"I have a link for our flux cored wire for AC-5. TM-910 is a good
product for use with AC-5 (95% Ar / 5% CO2) shielding gas. The fact that AC-5
shielding gas may be used will result in much lower smoke levels. We see similar
amounts of Mn in the fume as our other E71T-1 products  but the substantial
reduction of overall fume reduces the amount of Mn. A 40% reduction from even AC-25
may be realized. Compared to CO2, the reduction can be much higher than
40%."

http://www.hobartbrothers.com/product_details.asp?prodID=144

"We have a carbon steel metal cored wire that also can be used on AC-5
shielding gas (and most of them can be). We do have a specific one that
is designed for lower fume generation rates however. That product is
Tri-Mark brand Metalloy 70X. See the link below."

http://www.hobartbrothers.com/product_details.asp?prodID=98

I asked my welding consumables supplier for a quote on the Metalloy 70X and found it to be 120% more expensive that the Lincoln MC-6 I'm currently using.
I've requested further info from Hobart to define the exact fume levels that may be expected from their product so that I can compare it with other wires and see for myself which is better.

My goal is to be prepared when OSHA pushes through the new, greatly reduced, welding fume PEL's (Permissable Exposure Limits) they've been promising.

Tim
Parent - - By swnorris (****) Date 05-18-2006 17:17
Doug, John,

I just sent you a couple items from the AISC via separate emails.  If you're a member, the 55 page General Rules for Structural Steel Fabrication manual is free.  I also included a Sample Safety Program for Structural Steel Fabricators. 
Parent - - By jwright650 (*****) Date 05-18-2006 17:26
Scott, yeah we are members of the AISC, but thanks anyway.
Thanks for thinking about us:-)
Parent - By thcqci (***) Date 05-18-2006 17:44
Got that, too.  Great stuff there.  Thanks.
Up Topic Welding Industry / Welding Fundamentals / New Section

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