CHAPTER 1

SAFETY Plant start-up will commence after all plant operators and maintenance workers are well informed of the safety precautions necessary. Workers should be trained how to handle various situations which could arise, especially those involving dangerous chemicals or mechanical malfunction. They should know where the first aid, shower and eye wash stations, and fire extinguishers are. Care must be taken that the workers are informed of environmental practices as well. Only after they are aware of all safety procedures are they to be admitted to the plant. The minimum safety equipment that should be considered is; safety glasses, hard hats, safety shoes, and long-sleeved shirts & pants. All those who handle liquid chemicals would of course wear the recommended safety equipment designed for that purpose and have available a safety shower and eye wash. All maintenance personnel in the performance of their duties should be trained in the cautions regarding the liquids used in the plant. Suitable ventilation equipment such as fans should be used before working on enclosed spaces and opened pipes, or tanks. Lock-Out Tag-Out is the simplest form of electrical safety, yet the surest way to prevent accidents. Each employee that will be working on a machine personally will need a padlock in his possession for the purpose of locking the electrical box of the machine or machines that will be out of service. When the machine is taken out of service, the person responsible for locking the machine will place a padlock on the motor control box to prevent the machine from being turned on, except by him. The person who places the padlock on the control center then accepts the responsibility for all personnel who will be working on the equipment and will personally see that all is clear before removing the lock, allowing the equipment to be operated. No one other than the person, who placed the lock on the machinery, may remove the lock. All locks will be identified, so that other plant personnel may locate the person responsible for placing the lock on the machinery, in the event a lock has not been properly removed. Leader-Operator rules of safety apply to the reclaim procedures in addition to the normal equipment safety recommendations. Reclaim and shipping of bulk materials requires diligent observation of the storage and the accumulated material in the storage. When removing materials from the pile a vertical wall may never accumulate higher than the operators eyes. This prevents the operator from being covered by the material in the event that the wall collapses upon itself. The operator should never approach a wall that is higher than his eyes! The best way to prevent this situation from happening is to continually probe the upper pile section before removing the lower pile. Always scrape to the pile in order to maintain a clean floor that will remain a surface on which the optimum operational maneuvering can be accomplished. Never, load more into the loader bucket than the rated load for the machinery. Always wear your safety belt while operating the loader. Always set emergency brake before dismounting machinery.

Safety training should be designed based on local and national code required. Safety code in the United States is controlled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Refer to OSHA standards where local code is undefined. It is recommended that a Safety Booklet be printed and passed to the employees as a permanent referral tool when questions arise on the proper method for doing anything in the plant regarding plant safety. Regular safety meetings should be held to review problems or to entertain the employees concerns with the ongoing safety on the workplace. It is also advisable to award citations for outstanding examples of excellence, thereby encouraging others to follow suit. During the initial start-up period, equipment and raw materials must be inspected by members of Tekno-Kom Engineers prior to any mechanical or electrical operation to ensure proper installation.