It is safe when used correctly, it’s also not currently being used. Yeah don’t stare directly at the bulb for an hour but as intended it’s to be used with the top down and the light not visible. We give inductions for using the welder, we’ll give them for the exposure unit. I’m not deliberately crippling it before it’s even supposed to be used.
We went over the electrical risks of it with Joe who is also a qualified sparky. It’s fine, put a sign on it saying ‘don’t use’ if it’ll make you feel better.
This one IS actually unsafe as it doesn’t have a top to close at all! We need to dispose of it!
In the meantime, I have emailed the manufacturer to find out if there are additional safety features that newer units have. As Gilbert says, please put a DO NOT USE sign on it until we find out more and complete the RA…
As the risk assessment seems to be a hold up for this unit getting into action, I’ve knocked one together based on my observations in the image, and past experience with similar units for screen printing.
The key issues here would be:
Installing an electrical interlock and having an electrical inspect the internal wiring for signs of wear, UV deterioration etc…
Checking what type of bulb it runs off, and if appropriate, removing and replacing what is possibly a mercury vapour bulb with something a bit safer to service.
Giving it a bit clean.
Checking for any light leaks using visible light if possible.
Giving it a burn-in test under constant supervision.
Trying to check for any information about the vacuum motor of the whole unit to see if there is a duty cycle limit on the motor.
I hope this helps, I couldn’t work out how the RAs were done for SLMS so I just de-branded my work template to get it started.
It should be out of use until screen printing gets going, myanmarc had a look at it when it arrived and gave it a basic electrical safety test it’s all seems ok except for a little bit of primary installation showing at the back a fairly quick fix, lack of an interlock possibly might be a problem but adding one is fairly simple and I have a suitable one in stock, but it’s down to the screen printing text to choose their control
Take a look at some others (that also use the same template) for examples - the scores are multiplied. ie. severity x probability - after the controls the severity doesn’t change but the the goal is the probability goes down…
On the point of temporarily restricting use for stuff like this… as someone with experience as a tech in the space could I suggest we get a couple of these lockouts? Everyone seems to agree that it’s safe if used correctly with an induction, but that’s not yet the case. This would let the techs for the area lock out the unit but still work on it as necessary.
I agree. This type of machine is safe to use without an induction.
The wider area probably does need an induction as there are chemicals in use for screen printing which would need control measures.
I believe the machine is out of service right now because it has no safety interlocks and the electrical wiring hasn’t been inspected yet. That might be wrong or have changed, it’s just what I understood from the conversation.
