PowerSafe partners with factories in the construction products industry, understanding their unique challenges. These factories must balance safety with the demands of efficient material production. That's why we customize our guarding solutions to enhance safety without compromising productivity.
Common Hazards in the Construction Products Industry
Many hazards exist throughout a machine or production line, whether clearly visible or hidden from view. Workers may need to reach blindly or crawl under equipment for maintenance or troubleshooting, increasing the risk of injury. Whether rollers and saw blades are powered by a motor or moved passively by material or an active conveyor belt, they can pose serious risks to operators. These hazards can include:
- Crush points or shear points
- Hot surface points
- Pinch points
- Cut points
- Thrown objects
- Stored energy
Common Machinery in the Construction Products Industry
These hazards are all too common in the typical equipment found in the Construction Products Industry. Many machines date back to before OSHA regulations existed, often lacking modern safety features. In some cases, replacement parts are unavailable, and specialized services to repair these legacy machines are limited.
The most common types of machinery in the Construction Products Industry that require safety guarding include:
- Barrel dies
- Upcut saws
- Extruders
- Formers
- Flippers
- Banding and strapping equipment
- Drawing and straightening equipment
Guarding Solutions for Construction Product Machines
A wide range of machine guards can be designed through collaboration between PowerSafe's machine safety specialists and those responsible for operating and maintaining the machine. These include:
Machine Guarding Solutions
- Point of Operation Guards – Polycarbonate plastic panels for visibility and protection.
- Perimeter Safety Guarding – Black wire mesh with opening sizes determined by safety distance.
- Safety Switch Integration – Evaluating non-locking RFID vs. locking solenoid types based on each machine's stop behavior.
Presence-Sensing Safety Devices
- Safety laser scanners
- Safety light curtains
- Safety mats or bump strips
- 3D safety radar sensors
Integrated Safety Controls for Legacy Machines
- Grip enabling switches (dead man switches) with emergency stop functionality
- Two-hand controls with anti-tie-down protection
- Pneumatic safety valves and controls
- Emergency stop buttons or emergency rope pulls
Machine Upgrades for Safety & Efficiency
- Location sensors and limit switches
- Adjustment knobs extended straight out or at 90-degree angles via gearboxes
- Encoders and drive upgrades for offline control
- Non-safety-rated cameras for internal monitoring of hazardous areas
Our machine guarding designs are built to custom fit your specific machine, application, and operational needs while remaining user-friendly to create a safer work environment. Any impact on production will depend on necessary machine upgrades or process changes, which should be evaluated internally. Machine guards and perimeter fencing are essential for employee protection, and should be a top priority at your facility.
