(Observe also the ventilating duct, near the roof, and the
downwardly-projecting Y-shaped nozzles connected to it through which
the smoke and dust are drawn out of the building.)]
The Foundry Yard.
The fact that orderliness and system promote safety is probably nowhere
better exemplified than in a large foundry yard. The maintenance and
cost of a foundry yard is small as compared with that of the foundry
itself, and it is good economy, therefore, to use the yard as much
as practicable for the storing of scrap, sand, flasks, finished
product, raw materials, and miscellaneous supplies; but the maximum
efficiency and economy cannot be realized unless the yard is kept in a
neat and orderly condition. If a yard is just large enough to meet the
needs of a foundry, and is not used to its full capacity, it usually
follows that the foundry floor space is littered with material that
could be stored in the yard more advantageously; and the crowding of
the foundry floor increases the number of accidents, many of which
might be eliminated if the yard were utilized to better advantage.
This is specially true of a foundry where every available foot of
floor space is required for production. In this class belongs the
“jobbing foundry,” in which work of a miscellaneous nature is done, as
distinguished from the “repetition foundry,” in which the work consists
mainly in the continuous reproduction of certain standard stock
patterns.
The jobbing foundry owes its existence to the fact that many
manufacturers who use castings have no room for a foundry, or have too
limited a need for castings to warrant the expense of maintaining a
foundry of their own. A foundryman who depends largely or wholly upon
job contracts to keep his plant in operation usually has to turn out
an exceedingly varied assortment of castings, and speed is often an
essential factor in the contract. This means that as soon as one job is
finished, the flasks and patterns must be removed and a different set
substituted. If the yard is not well kept there is little likelihood
that there will be ample space in it for the flasks and sand, and
if there is not, it may be necessary to use the foundry floor for
storage until the new flasks are brought in. The floor is then in
a disorderly, crowded state, just when clear space is needed. It is
evident that the probability of accident is greatly increased when such
conditions prevail.
It is important for the foundry yard to be level and fairly smooth,
and it will pay the owner well to put forth every reasonable effort to
secure a yard of this kind. Material can be handled and stored with
much greater safety and facility, in a level yard, than in one that is
sloping or uneven. Foot paths, and passageways for wheelbarrows and
trucks, can also be kept in good condition more easily.
A considerable part of the space in a yard, particularly when it
belongs to a jobbing foundry, is devoted to the storage of flasks. The
flasks should be carefully piled, so that they will not fall over, and
they should also be arranged in an orderly manner, according to size,
type, or combinations. Attention to these details will no doubt consume
more time than would be required to store the flasks promiscuously;
but the extra time is well worth taking, on account of the ease with
which the flasks can be located, and the safety with which they can be
withdrawn when they are again needed in the foundry,--to say nothing of
the greater safety that proper storing insures, during the intervening
period. If the flasks are heaped up in disorderly piles, or stored in
other indiscriminate ways, accidents are likely to happen when the
workmen are endeavoring to extricate one that is more or less buried or
hidden. If the particular flask required cannot be located readily, a
less desirable one is used, or a makeshift is hastily constructed. In
the foundry these misfit flasks often cause burns, many of which could
be avoided if more system were used in storing the flasks in the yard,
so that the right one could be found without delay.
[Illustration:
_Courtesy of the General Electric Company._
FIG. 18. DANGEROUS LOADING OF A CAR USED FOR TRANSPORTING FOUNDRY
MATERIAL.]
When materials or equipment are stored or piled by the side of car
tracks, a clear space of not less than six feet should be maintained
between the tracks and the piles. Workmen engaged in the movement of
cars, or other employees who are obliged to use the car tracks in the
performance of their work, are likely to be caught and killed, or
severely injured, unless ample clearance is provided.
At all places where railroad tracks cross roadways, runways, or
footways, planks should be nailed down between the rails and at both
sides of them, or other equivalent measures should be taken, to provide
a smooth passageway over the rails for wagons, trucks, or barrows,
as well as for foot passers. This greatly facilitates the crossing
of the tracks, and it also reduces, in large measure, the shocks to
which loads would otherwise be subjected, and the consequent danger
of material falling off and injuring the men. The planks (or their
equivalent) should be _flush_ with the rails, however, and they should
come snugly up to the rails on the outside, and as close to them, on
the inside, as the flanges of the car wheels will permit. Warning signs
should be posted at all crossings, and the men engaged in car movements
should always blow a whistle or sound a gong or bell as the cars
approach a crossing.
Whenever tracks or roadways are depressed, they should be guarded by
substantial railings. Furnace pits and excavations of all kinds should
also have effective protection of the same nature.
All manholes should be kept covered with wooden tops, or with covers
made safe by the use of non-slip material or by being checkered with a
raised pattern; and the covers should be set as nearly flush with the
surrounding surfaces as possible. Many serious injuries have resulted
from workmen slipping on smooth, wet manhole covers of iron or steel,
and from tripping over covers projecting above the level of the floor
or the ground. When it is necessary to remove a cover, a guard rail
should be placed about the hole immediately, and a danger signal
secured to the guard rail.
Sand bins and coke bins, particularly those constructed of wood, often
get badly out of repair. The boards become warped and bulge out under
the weight of their contents, and they often split or crack in such a
way as to present dagger-like points, or slivers, that are likely to
catch the unwary workman, especially at night or during late afternoons
in winter months, when the light is poor.
Good, serviceable walks should be provided throughout the yard. If the
walks are conveniently located and are kept in good order, the workmen
will use them; but if these conditions are not fulfilled, the men will
climb over scrap piles or under cars, in order to “make a short cut.”
Cinder paths are no doubt the most serviceable for foundry yards.
Loosely-laid boards are continually getting out of place, and they are
also likely to become warped so that they will not lie flat. Boards
often warp enough to split, even when they are nailed down; and in such
cases they may constitute a more or less dangerous tripping hazard to
the workmen.
The safest way to store pig iron is to stow it in bins, or pile it
up in neat stacks. This is more costly, however, than throwing it
down promiscuously in piles, and hence the safer methods are often
neglected. Electromagnetic cranes are coming into wide use for
handling pig iron, and although they are very convenient, they have
serious drawbacks when regarded from the safety standpoint, and their
hazards should be clearly understood and carefully avoided. When the
electromagnet is used no one should be permitted to stand, walk, or
work near the path followed by the magnet, because any interruption of
the electric service, from the opening of a switch, the blowing of a
fuse, the short-circuiting of the magnet coil, or any other cause, will
instantly let the whole load drop. Sometimes, too, a pig is barely held
by the magnet, so that the least jar will break its contact and allow
it to fall.
Safety, neatness, and convenience may be secured by constructing
stout bins and dividing them into compartments, preferably of one-car
capacity each, in which the pig iron can be deposited by the magnet
crane,--always provided the dangers incident to the use of the magnet
are borne in mind and avoided. When the iron is piled high in loose,
irregular heaps, there is danger of one or more of the pigs becoming
free and tumbling down upon workmen. This hazard is avoided when
substantial bins are employed.
In many foundry yards boxes and barrels are used to store worn-out
tools, small scrap material, discarded lumber, and other rubbish. It
will materially assist in keeping the yard in a neat, safe condition,
if the barrels or boxes used for this purpose are kept in convenient
places, because the men are then more likely to make use of them. It
is important, too, to keep all such receptacles in good order. It is
not uncommon to see the ragged edge of a worn-out shovel blade, or
some other discarded tool, sticking out menacingly over the edge of a
box or barrel. Heaping up the scrap so that it stands high above the
receptacles, or allowing it to project over the edges of them as just
described, should be prohibited, because careless habits of this kind
increase the dangers about the yard and invite injury, especially at
night.
Barrel hoops are frequently left lying about, and when a workman steps
on such a hoop it is likely to swing up and strike him smartly, often
causing acute pain, or perhaps producing an actual abrasion or lesion,
if it contains a sharp nail. This particular hazard may be taken as
representative of a large class of others that are seemingly trivial in
nature, but which are well worthy of attention in the aggregate. These
minor accidents are often attended by grave consequences, not only
because they may be followed by septic poisoning, but also because they
frequently occur when the workman is engaged at some important task
involving the safety of himself or others. Coming at such a time they
take him by surprise, and they are likely to make his attention lapse
momentarily from the work in hand,--perhaps with disastrous results. A
book might be written about the big consequences of little things.
When old castings and other metal objects are broken up the work should
preferably be done in the yard. A “skull-cracker” or “yard-drop” is
usually employed for breaking these objects, and this consists of a
derrick or hoist which lifts a heavy metal ball and drops it on the
castings. Pieces of the objects are likely to fly in all directions
when the weight falls on and breaks them, and all persons in the
immediate vicinity are endangered by these pieces. Every skull-cracker
should therefore be entirely surrounded by a substantially constructed
fence, barricade, or inclosure, of sufficient height to protect persons
working in the vicinity, and all passers-by, from injury from flying
fragments of metal. In addition, a suitable shelter-house should be
provided for the operator of the skull-cracker and his helpers, and
all these persons should go into the shelter-house _before the ball is
raised_. A safety drop-hook should be used to prevent premature or
accidental dropping of the ball, if the weight is held by mechanical
means; and if an electromagnet is employed to raise and hold the
weight, the utmost care should be taken to keep the electrical circuits
and devices in perfect condition. All gears, sprockets, and other
dangerous moving parts of the skull-cracker should be covered or
otherwise rendered harmless by the installation of standard guards.