Little do most people know, dust is able to cause mass destruction, and a serious dust explosion is capable of destroying a whole building. According to safety experts, any flammable object that becomes explosive when it becomes dust. So it is important to know that not only dust explosions can originate from particles from unoccupied areas of your factory, but also from certain flammable products your staff might be handling.
There are five things that cause a dust explosion to occur: the dust itself, confinement of this dust to build up into a cloud, fuel, oxygen, and fire. If one of these elements is not present, then a dust explosion cannot occur, thankfully.
However, if you own a warehouse, factory, or other industrial facility, it could be home to the next dust explosion catastrophe if you do not hire cleaning companies that specialise in
factory cleaning
. Here are 5 things you can do so your can eliminate the risk of a lethal dust explosion.
Inspect the building frequently.
Health inspectors declare that dust is capable of being harmful to humans when it becomes as thick as a paper clip, or eight tenths of a millimetre. You will need a cleaning crew to do factory cleaning as soon as possible when a layer of dust that thick covers more than 5 per cent of the floor space. This also includes support beams, joists, and ducts. Not only does regular cleaning minimise the dust in your facility, but it also helps clean your equipment and machinery as well, so that every machine is running properly and the employees who use them do not get sick.
Clean the building at fixed intervals.
Put a plan in place, involving the cleaning of every surface in your facility. Be sure that dust caused by work cycle needs to be removed immediately by your staff, and they should never allow that dust to grow. As it is very helpful to have a professional cleaning service clean your space every once in a while, assigning workers to keep it free of dust will almost guarantee no dangerous buildups of dust in the building.
Train employees to identify and overcome dust hazards.
It is necessary to train your workers before they start work or when they get reassigned. Not only should your employees understand safe working procedures in relation to their daily tasks, but employees should also know how to utilise parts of your building for controlling dust, and possibly other hazardous sources that come with operating your facility.
Put together a company culture of safety by motivating employees to notify you or other managers of dangerous practices. Factories can also experience explosions with other fine and flammable materials, including sawdust, coal, powders, and more. If that is the case, then your employees must be more aware than ever for how to prevent dust explosions.
Check faulty equipment or machinery.
If you are running a machine that is acting up, proceed to turn it off at once. Dirty or dust filled machines will not work properly until they are thoroughly cleaned, repaired, or replaced. Equipment in bad condition will tend to be a common cause of ignition, or fire, which is one of the 5 ingredients of a deadly explosion.
Be sure all your surfaces are reachable.
In order for employees and cleaners to clean every aspect of your building, they have to be able to have access to those areas in question: ducts, support beams, rafters, and more. Any horizontal surface is a place where dust can accumulate.