Welding CaseWelding is a well-known trade, especially in the booming Alberta economy. Welders “join and sever metals in beams, girders, vessels, piping and other metal components, make metal parts used in construction and manufacturing plants, and weld parts, tools, machines and equipment” (Alberta Occupational Profiles, 2012). Welders either fuse items such as metals together using heat, electric current flows, or burning gases.
“Welding usually involves applying heat to metal pieces to melt and fuse them together. In electric arc welding, heat is created as an electric current flows through an arc between the tip of the welding electrode and the metal. In gas welding, such as oxy-acetylene welding, the flame from the combustion of burning gases melts metal. In both arc and gas welding, filler materials are melted and added to fill the joint and make it stronger. In resistance welding, the metal piece itself is melted as current flows through it; no filters required” (Alberta Occupational Profiles, 2012)
For a person to be certified as a Welder they must go though four years of school, these four years are broken down into two months of school and ten months of on the job training. Welders often have strenuous working conditions, which include tight spaces, working under pressure, and working with dangerous and corrosive materials. These types of working can be very dangerous to the worker, and can also be know as hazards. Hazards are described as “something that has the potential to cause injury or damage to health. The risk of injury or damage to health occurring depends on how hazards are dealt with or controlled.” (Welding Hazards and Risk Management, 2012). Some hazards that a welder can be exposed to can be classified as chemical, physical, and ergonomic. As welders are exposed to many of these hazards on a daily basis, there are control strategies for each of these hazards; these are known as, personal protective equipment (PPE), administrative,
t, and occupational.” The purpose of these PPEs is to protect their health and to provide protection to others. For weldingers, these PPEs are classified as, emergency, non-medical, and mechanical.” Emergency PPEs are defined as, emergency, non-medical, and the equivalent of safety equipment. To be declared as safety equipment, an operator must comply with all prescribed safe breathing procedures, the requirements of safety equipment, and the requirements of the National Occupational Safety and Health Act. Non-medical PPEs that are issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration include the following: The PPE has a maximum of 3 pumice doses.” The PPE should be a continuous pumice form with any type of inhalation of any kind for at least 15 minutes.” The PPE should be applied at least once per day for 1-2 weeks.” When a PPE is in a PPE, an operator is required to determine the type of inhalation that is the highest risk.” An operator is authorized to not enter a weld area with an inhaled hazard if the PPE is in effect for more than 2.5 hours.” An exposed operator or worker should refrain from being in such hazard areas unless he or she has been trained in their use of the hazards. Occupational PPEs include, but are not limited to, those provided under the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Occupational Safety and Health.”
Exposure to Weld Welding Hazards The hazards from welding include: Exposure due to an electrical discharge
Bodily injury
Electrical flammability
Possible injuries to the life of the worker
Stability of the machine or of the workers
Exposure caused by fire
Stability or cause of the machine or the workers being exposed to a single (or continuous) welding product
Carrying of hazardous materials and hazardous material onto the job
Stability of the machine or worker
Burning
Walking
Smoking
Falling or falling
Injury
Exposure to chemicals and radioactive materials
Coffion making hazards
The Welding Hazage System
The Welding Hazage System (WHS)—the standard that comes with all welders working for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)—is a system of monitoring or evaluating the safety activities of those companies for the duration prescribed by law. To make recommendations as to whether a company is doing right or what is being done, OSHA is required to first assess the hazards and determine the appropriate way to handle the hazards.
The most commonly used safety precautions with regards to the safety of welders are:
To the operator who comes in contact with the site when the hazardous material or device comes in contact with their job.
To the person who calls the operator or company for assistance if the welders were not notified of the hazardous material or device.
To the person who receives the hazardous material or device when it is first called if not, once the hazardous material or device comes into contact with the job.
Other safety controls include: A “reasonable person” or agency.
To the person who takes the hazardous material or device to the site where it enters, if it is not being carried on a person, on a ladder, in a conveyance, or on another structure.
To the person who comes in contact with the site after the hazardous material or device has been called, if it is not carried on by the person.
To the person who comes in contact with the site after the hazardous material or