The Innovations in Safety Awards Task Force (of the Portland Cement Association's Occupational Health and Safety Committee) looks for examples of how the cement industry is making its plants safer places to work. The goals of the awards are:

1. To honor innovative practices, programs, and projects throughout the industry.
2. To communicate these ideas to members of the North American cement industry.
3. To raise the profile and importance of safety programs both inside and outside the industry.

More than 40 entries were judged by the task force, and winners in five categories — Quarry, Milling/Grinding, Pyroprocessing, Distribution, and General Facility — received a Sony MVC-CD400 CD-R Mavica Digital Camera. These awards are co-sponsored by the Portland Cement Association and the Cement Association of Canada.

QUARRY

Lehigh Cement Company, Mitchell, Indiana Plant

The limestone quarry employees at Lehigh's Mitchell, Ind. plant developed a safer and easier way to clean the window of the crusher control room by installing a retractable safe access platform. The control room is adjacent to the primary crusher, which can generate dust when trucks dump limestone. The dust can collect on the control room window and can obstruct the operator's view of the trucks and crusher equipment. Before, employees would stand at one end of the building with a long-handled squeegee and try to clean the window. This sometimes required awkward body position and created a potential fall hazard into the primary core crusher. The safe access platform allows much safer access for cleaning the window. It is hinged at one end and works on a pulley system that allows employees to raise and lower the platform as needed. To avoid damage to the platform, it is raised during truck operations. Plant maintenance and quarry employees installed the retractable platform in the spring of 2002.

MILLING/GRINDING

The Monarch Cement Company, Humboldt, Kansas Plant

The noise level in Monarch Cement's blend silo compressor room was 115 dBA, with a background noise level of 106 dBA. Five region blower relief valves cause the background noise when they are relieving pressure. The noise level is classified as constant because one of the region blowers is always relieving pressure. Options to reduce the noise level in the compressor room included relocating the relief valves outside, or keeping them inside and designing a baffle for the relief valves. The plant designed a baffle that consists of used compressor and quarry truck air filters. The filters — approximately 12 in. in diameter and 24 in. high — were split or notched 10 to 12 in. from the bottom to fit over the relief valve inlet pipe. The filters were then covered with 2-in. mineral wood with alumina backing on the top and sides and set over the relief valves. After installing the five noise-reduction baffles, the noise level measured 101 dBA with background level of 95 dBA room average. The project took about four hours to install and insulate. The cost for the insulating materials was about $50, and no value was given to the used filters.

MILLING/GRINDING

Holcim (US) Inc., Midlothian, Texas Plant

The Holcim Midlothian, Texas plant designed a system for injecting Visolite (a fluorescent leak-detection powder) into a pulverized coal bag house. Filter bags in the bag house become worn, allowing pulverized coal to pass through, resulting in a loss of bag efficiency. In the past, Visolite was dumped into the bottom of the bag house by opening a man-way in the chute section, above the screw feed. This practice created a possible safety risk for the operator (slip/fall injury accessing the man-way) and possible fire or equipment damage risks (increasing oxygen level in the pulverized coal system). This also resulted in housekeeping issues and increased cycle time to complete the inspection. A system connected to, but external from, the pulverized coal hopper was designed by plant staff. The system consists of a 15-gal. hopper, valving, and blower, and allows for efficient delivery of Visolite to the “dirty” side of the bag house with a minimum of oxygen ingress and time. Additionally, the system provides an efficient method of injecting raw meal into the bag house to coat the bags and surfaces before mill shutdown. The time for completion of the project was about six weeks from design to installation. The total cost for design, equipment, and installation was $10,000.

PYROPROCESSING

Holcim (US) Inc., Devil's Slide Plant Morgan, Utah

MSHA's Noise Reduction Program became the focus of the safety team at Holcim's Devil's Slide plant. Each team member spoke to their respective teams on noise reduction, asking them to identify high-noise areas in the facility. Although many areas surfaced, one stood out in importance as a high-traffic area with a very high 99 dBA rating. The area identified was at the burning end of the kiln, on a jet air exhaust line. The ear-level location of the exhaust compounded the problem. It was decided that the exhaust could be elevated to about 8 ft. The retrofit was made, and the result lowered the dBA level to 92. But some team members believed more could be done. The Kiln OEE team came up with the idea of re-inserting the exhaust into the kiln at a different point. This would not only further reduce the noise level, but also could benefit the burning process. The Energy Reduction Team became involved and was excited about the possible effects that the re-introduction of forced air could have on energy savings. The second retrofit was completed and the dBA rating dropped to 84, for a total reduction of 15 dBA from the initial reading. Re-inserting the exhaust also allowed for the elimination of an 8-hp floor-direct cooling fan, further reducing production costs. The cost of the improvements was $300.

DISTRIBUTION

GCC Dacotah, Moorcroft, Wyoming Terminal

On Feb. 16, 2002, a major improvement was made at the GCC Dacotah Moorcroft Terminal. A long-awaited bootlift to connect the truck to the unloading system was installed and tested. After spending a number of years searching for equipment to perform this function, plant staff decided to design and build the unit itself. The bootlift had to address two major safety concerns: to remove personnel from under the trailers during off-loading of cement, and to eliminate worker exposure to repetitive work on their hands and knees 200 times a day. Terminal Manager Leonard Feist sat down with Robert Clauser of Clauser Welding to design and execute a working unit. There are two major functions of this unit. First, it would need to elevate itself up to the trailer discharge and then follow the trailer up as it unloads. Second, the unit provides a seal that contains the product as it unloads under pressure. (During unloading, the weight of the truck decreases as the product is removed and the truck rises.) A three-piece mold was machined that was used to pour a solid rubber transition seal. This mold was machined out of a solid piece of aluminum 24 in. round by 30 in. long. The bootlift currently is in use and is being tested to make any possible improvements that can be designed into a replacement backup unit.

DISTRIBUTION

Texas Industries Inc., Hunter Cement Plant New Braunfels, Texas

TXI's Hunter Cement plant designed and installed a crossover platform to provide safe, easy access when going from railcar to railcar. The area is totally enclosed with handrails for employees' safety when opening car lids. Before this safety device was installed, there was a 3-ft opening between railcars. To ensure the employees' safety, the railroad was consulted in the implementation of the platform. The heights and widths of all cement railcars and locomotives were determined. It took about two weeks to complete. With the installation of the access platform, production increased, allowing the plant to load two cars at once rather than one by one.

GENERAL FACILITY

Ciment Quebec, Inc., St. Basile Plant Quebec, Canada

The pyroprocessing department of Ciment Quebec, Inc. in St. Basile developed a system that mitigates the risk of musculo-skeletal injuries when displacing compressed gas cylinders. The pyroprocessing sampling station, located between the seventh and eighth floors of the preheating tower, required the workers to transport the 176-lb (80-kg) compressed gas cylinders, used for calibration, up the stairway. A hoist system enables the displacement of the cylinders from the seventh floor to the sampling station. An electric chain block carries the hoist cage. High and low sensors were installed to automatically stop the hoist system. Another sensor was installed to prevent hoist movement if the door is closed incorrectly. The project was completed in less than one week at a cost of Can$2,500 (US$1,575).

GENERAL FACILITY

Lafarge North America Inc. Ravena, New York Plant

The Lafarge Ravena plant often uses jackhammers with 6-ft-long bits to dislodge large rocks or chunks from plugged raw material feeders. There is a potential risk that the operator could be struck by the jackhammer recoil as the chunk breaks up and descends through the feeder. To address this risk, the plant's Labor Team designed a collapsible jackhammer bit made from a chisel bit, shank, and conduit. The chisel and shank are welded into each end of the conduit. As the bit strikes the rock and the chunk is broken and begins its descent, the conduit will collapse under the chunk without forcing the jackhammer up against the operator. The collapsed bit can easily be withdrawn from the feeder. The chisel bit and shank may be re-used in a new piece of conduit. The cost of the collapsible bit is about $20.