Just because the final product is something beautiful doesn’t mean that the manufacturing process should skip over safety measures, as a Swarovski Lighting plant in New York discovered. On November 11, 2015 a sanding and grinding booth caught fire when metal filings inside the blower unit ignited.
The damage to the machine is thought to be around $45,000, but the loss of business caused by the small dust fire will be hundreds of thousands of dollars each day. Offices upstairs from the production area were also heavily damaged by the smoke from the fire because of issues with ventilating the building effectively.
Luckily firefighters were able to get the fire put out within 20 minutes, but then spent time blowing out dust and burnt rubble, as well as using thermal imaging to search for any hot spots that might cause another ignition.
The manufacturing plant has about 400 employees and generates over $30 million in revenue each year, which will be severely impacted by this fire. The Fire Chief on the scene explained how much even a small fire can damage a company when he said, “I can positively say the cost of (business) loss will outweigh the cost of the machine“.
To prevent accidental fires and explosions, combustible dusts must be regularly cleaned with equipment designed specifically for combustible dust collection. Hughes Environmental technicians are expertly trained in the industry best methods for cleaning these hazards and use equipment for combustible dust cleaning.
Contact us now to find out how we can help you avoid a costly fire and damage to your facility that will cause production to come to a standstill.
CLICK HERE or Call 888-845-3952
Employees worried about their safety or who notice possible violations being committed are able to anonymously contact OSHA to file a complaint or request an inspection by calling 800-321-OSHA (6742) or visiting https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/complain.html