The following article appears in the journal JOM, 53 (11) (2001), pp. 14-15.

Feature: Education

Effective Safety Training Programs for Aluminum Cast Shops

To compete effectively in a global economy, aluminum casting operations must develop and maintain a qualified and competent workforce. A significant part of this effort must center on employee training, especially safety training. In addition to providing employees with accurate information, effective safety training programs will recognize certain principles governing human behavior. This paper reviews topical content appropriate for safety training programs to be used in aluminum casting operations and suggests ways to enhance the effectiveness of such training by incorporating principles of human behavior.

INTRODUCTION

Statistics gathered by the Aluminum Association spanning a period of two decades shows that, every year, workers are injured in accidents involving molten aluminum.¹ Though the causes vary, many accidents result from unsafe acts that have been repeated all too often. Numerous factors contribute to repetition of unsafe behavior, including lack of knowledge, experience, training, management, supervision, and communication. In rare cases, willful disregard for safety rules is at fault.²

QUALITY-SAFETY PARALLEL

One gauge of the success of safety training is the degree to which employees comply with safety rules. Unless employees have a personal commitment to work safely, constant surveillance will be required to ensure compliance with those rules.

There is a difference between following safety rules and working safely. Well-written safety rules define specific behaviors that protect personnel from accident and injury. When personnel are working safely, they not only follow safety rules but are fully aware of the hazards of the work place and are on the alert for potential accidents.

A CAST HOUSE TRAINING GUIDE

Objectives The following objectives are suggested as appropriate for cast house safety training: Knowledge of safety rules Understanding causes and prevention of explosions Understanding of how personal protective equipment works Awareness of hazards in the workplace Improved safe performance (reduced incidents and injuries) Better reporting Commitment to work safely. Methods Safety objectives can be attained with the aid of various methods such as: Instruction by technical experts, managers, supervisors, and safety staff Participation in seminars and Aluminum Association workshops Studying Aluminum Association safety publications4-6 Studying articles about aluminum safety7-9 Viewing the testing of fabrics exposed to molten metal Viewing aluminum explosion videos Viewing materials that pose explosion hazards in molten aluminum such as ammonium nitrate and heavily oxidized copper, and magnesium Attending casting training and demonstrations Participating on a safety committee Participating in a safety audit Participation in incident investigation Practicing emergency procedures Observing the personal example of safety-conscious managers and supervisors Hearing the experience of co-workers and others Observing that safety-related maintenance items receive high priority. Program Topics The following topics are suggested as appropriate for safety training: Company safety policy Cause and prevention of aluminum explosions Personal protective equipment Hazards associated with scrap Hazards associated with sows Furnace-charging safety Sow mold inspection standards Molten-metal drain tub safety DC casting equipment safety inspection standards: condition of bottom blocks, molds, water patterns, curl-reduction technology, lubricant system, spouts pins, equipment set-up, thermocouples, and platen drift DC casting process safety: operator checklist, safe and unsafe casting practices Emergency procedures: power outage; loss of water; platen stoppage; bleed outs; ingot hang-ups; metal leaks; personnel assignments Location of emergency equipment Practicing emergency procedures Curing and pre-heating of troughs and crucibles; inspection standards Combustion system safety Chlorine and compressed gas safety Overhead crane traffic safety Stacking and storing ingots safely How to conduct a safety audit Housekeeping Incident reporting and reviews OSHA mandated safety training

Although adherence to safety rules will promote the welfare of personnel, no set of rules is perfect or complete. A complete rulebook would be so voluminous as to defy comprehension by workers or enforcement by management. Instead, in addition to having well-formulated safety rules, workers must be endowed with sufficient understanding of the hazards of the work place so as to be cognizant of potential dangers. In this regard, a parallel can be drawn between quality and safety. Just as quality must be built into a manufactured part, safety must be built into the individual. Although one can force an individual to obey safety rules, one cannot force an individual to work safely.

PROGRAM FUNDAMENTALS

Effective safety programs are founded upon principles that acknowledge the important roles of both management and employees.

Managers or owners are responsible for all facets of corporate endeavor, including safety, and must assume full responsibility for its success or failure. Since management sets the tone, management must be genuinely committed to safety and establishing it as a top priority. Lip service to safety at the management level counteracts safety objectives at all other levels. Nothing will destroy employee commitment to abiding by safety rules quicker than observing a manager or owner violate them. Management is also responsible for formulating the safety policy. This policy should give simple verbal expression to the company’s fundamental belief in and commitment to safety. Examples include, “No job is so urgent that it cannot be done safely,” or “Safety is everybody’s business”, or “Safety RULES.” Every employee should know what the company’s safety policy is. Of equal importance to having a safety policy is consistently living by the principle it portrays. Failure to do so will undermine the safety effort.

Because employee attitudes tend to reflect management attitudes, a positive management attitude toward the workforce will be reflected in the manner with which workers assume their responsibilities on the production floor. This applies to working safely just as much as it does to producing a quality product.

People are naturally concerned with their own safety and will often be willing to participate in the safety effort. In some cases, employee participation in the safety effort may be a condition of employment. Participation breeds ownership. To maximize that ownership, employees can be involved in a variety of ways, including regular participation on a safety committee; working on a taskforce to solve a safety-related problem; participating in a safety audit; researching a safety issue and reporting on it to the safety committee; and periodically rotating the safety committee chairmanship.

Safety training must not be permitted to become the sole format for the safety effort. Although training is important, safety programs must be far more encompassing to be effective. In addition to training, effective safety programs include

• Active safety committees
  
• Special taskforces
  
• Prompt accident investigations
  
• Reports on accidents
  
• Periodic safety audits
  
• Reports on safety audit results
• Reports of near-misses
  
• Recognition and rewards for safe performance
  
• Visible management involvement
  

Wise managers recognize the value of a credible instructor. A credible instructor is one who thoroughly understands the subject matter and, preferably, has first-hand experience. Corporate trainers who fall short of this standard may find themselves challenged by veteran cast-house personnel who will discount instructions given by anyone who doesn’t have first-hand experience with molten metal. If credible and proficient instructors are not available in-house, they may be brought in from the outside.

TRAINING DEFINED

Training is defined as “guiding the development of a person; to instruct so as to make proficient or qualified; to teach.” For optimal results, training must also embrace exercise, indoctrination, experience, and grounding.³ All too often, training consists merely of observing another person perform a job for a period of time, or on-the-job training. On-the-job training focuses on performing tasks rather than developing understanding. Since different people commonly perform jobs differently, on-the-job training often transfers to the new employee not only the good habits, but also the bad habits, including unsafe practices, of the senior worker.

Prior to receiving any on-the-job training, the employee should receive fundamental training in the principles, processes, and hazards of the work that he or she will be performing. Afterwards, a proficiency test serves the dual purposes of measuring retention and documenting that the person received training. Points missed on the test can be later reviewed to clear up misunderstandings and ensure that critical information has been understood.

Fundamental instruction should be followed by hands-on familiarization with pertinent equipment without molten metal being present. By going through the job motions while under the supervision of a qualified trainer, the employee can demonstrate retention of fundamental job knowledge. Actually performing job functions over a period of time develops skill. This can be done with the aid of a co-worker whose proficiency in the job has been demonstrated previously. Only new employees who have demonstrated that they can perform the job functions properly and safely should be permitted to perform the work on their own. Periodic follow-up with the new employee should be conducted over a period of weeks to ensure that job skills have been mastered and retained.

A pyramid of knowledge, behavior, and commitment may illustrate the accumulated benefits of a well-conceived and effectively administered safety-training program. At the foundation lies knowledge. Safe behavior is made possible by knowledge of job-related hazards and rules of safe conduct. Commitment to working safely comes with time and job experience. Commitment cannot be forced or mandated, but is an inward personal resolve. Commitment to work safely will be strengthened as the principles of human behavior referred to earlier are acknowledged and incorporated into the safety program. See the sidebar for specific training objectives, methods, and program topics.

TRAINING FREQUENCY

After initial training has been provided and personnel are working in their assigned areas, it will be necessary to periodically review some fundamentals so that job practices do not wander from those prescribed. This fact can be attested to by anyone who has worked in aluminum cast shops. In particular, it is important to be reminded of the potential hazards that molten aluminum presents. One way to reinforce this fact is by viewing videos showing the aftermath of aluminum explosions and reviewing prevention methods being employed.

It must also be remembered that rotating personnel from one job assignment to another may require retraining. This fact is sometimes overlooked when employees have previously worked in the job or may be somewhat familiar with the work by virtue of proximity.

Each time training is administered, it should be documented and acknowledged by the employee in writing. Keeping written tests on file also certifies that employees have received the requisite training.

References

1. Seymour G. Epstein, “Update on Molten Aluminum Incident Reporting,” Light Metals 1997, ed. R. Huglen (Warrendale, PA: TMS, 1997), pp. 887–897.
2. Warren S. Peterson, “Safety in the Aluminum Cast Shop—The Operator Factor,” Light Metals 1989, ed. P.G. Campbell (Warrendale, PA: TMS, 1989), pp. 963–967.
3. Webster’s New World Dictionary
4. Guidelines for Handling Molten Aluminum, Second Edition (Washington, D.C.: The Aluminum Association).
5. Guidelines for Aluminum Sow Casting and Charging (Washington, D.C.: The Aluminum Association).
6. Guidelines for Aluminum Scrap Receiving and Inspection Based on Safety and Health Considerations (Washington, D.C.: The Aluminum Association).
7. Warren S. Peterson, “Safety in the Aluminum Cast Shop,” Light Metals 1989, ed. P.G. Campbell (Warrendale, PA: TMS, 1989), pp. 963–968.
8. J. Martin Ekenes, “Fostering a Safety Culture,” Light Metals 1993, ed. S.K. Das (Warrendale, PA: TMS, 1993), pp. 883–887.
9. Warren S. Peterson, “Molten Aluminum—Ammonium Nitrate Explosions,” Light Metals 1997, ed. R. Huglen (Warrendale, PA: TMS, 1997), pp. 1195–1198.

J. Martin Ekenes is with Hydro Aluminum Hycast in Spokane, Washington.

For more information, contact J.M. Ekenes, Hydro Aluminum Hycast, Spokane, Washington; e-mail jmekenes@mstar2.net