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The variety of machinery and pipes in need of regular maintenance requires beverage companies to have several specialised teams of employees and contractors, who need to be equipped with the proper tools to safely service machinery. Read how to make machine interventions safer and more efficient at a large beverage company!
Beverage production can involve the use of caustic chemicals such as phosphoric acid and 4-methylimidazole. Hazardous or asphyxiant gases like Carbon Dioxide and Ozone can be present in an elaborate piping system as well as other substances that can pose chronic or acute health hazards. The use of chemical substances at various processing stages and of additives in both food and drink products increased greatly in the last decades, and maintenance interventions had to adapt.
Next to this, the increasing levels of mechanisation and robotisation have introduced a growing number of large, automated machines with a high number of moving parts.
For maintenance and cleaning operations, pipe contents and moving machine parts must be neutralised to avoid employees getting exposed to dangerous substances or caught in powerful machinery. While machines are guarded whenever possible, many machines used in the sector often have dangerous moving parts to which it is difficult to fit adequate guards.
In order to operate safely, switching the power off before touching even the smallest moving part of any machine has become a necessity. In addition, operators are encouraged to call in properly qualified mechanics to deal with technical problems rather than trying to deal with them themselves.
Challenge
A large brewery with several sites needs a solution to neutralise machinery and to secure energy sources and pipe valves in the off-position for increased safety during maintenance. The customer requires this solution to be implemented at all sites for a large number of teams, including specialised employees and contractors.
Solution
Brady proposes a complete Lockout/Tagout solution leading with unique and innovative SafeKey padlocks that offer up to 700% more lock & key combinations than traditional safety padlocks.
SafeKey padlocks feature a unique and innovative locking mechanism that offers 100 000+ key and lock combinations. With SafeKey, larger sets of unique key & lock combinations are possible, with master keys for more team leaders and one grandmaster key to open them all for the company Safety Manager. In Lockout/Tagout, a proven safety procedure for machine and maintenance interventions, the golden rule is …. (continue reading & see the result).
