Objective To create passive protection systems for lines treating cold strip metal, that are simple to install, easily adapted to lines which already exist and compatible with successive technological advances.1. The creation and evaluation of a new passive protection system: Video-surveillance.2. The design and creation of a new, 'at the machine', safety information system.3. Installation and testing of an opto-electrical passive safety system on a seam folder.4. The automation of the seamer's manual clamp, the creation of a pair of alternating baths of insulating solution and a pre-furnace as a protection for the drying furnace.5. The identification of the relevant constraints for the accident risk level of a magnetic strip metal finishing line.Plants for the treatment and finishing of rolled steel products have long roller tables along which the plate passes after being unrolled from the initial reel and before being re-rolled around the final reel.These roller tables link and pass through reheating furnaces, tanks of treatment solutions and special machines for cutting, pressing, joining and drawing the treated plate.These processes are carried out at a series of difference plants which each carry out the individual stages of the whole process.The main plants are:the coil preparation, flanging and joining line;annealing, sand-blasting, pickling and oiling lines;reversible cold-rolling mills;the strip repair and defect elimination line;decarburization and magnesia sprinkling lines;furnaces for static annealing in hydrogen-rich atmosphere;pickling, chemical insulation and 'thermo-levelling' lines;decarburization, annealing and paint coating lines;the lines where the product is cut to size, packaged and dispatched.On each line there are machines designed, among other things, to pass the plate between various sets of rollers, to trim the edges, to trim both ends and any defective sections, and to weld or staple sections together. Although operators usually remain in cabins along the line when the plant is operating, some manual intervention is required and this exposes them to the danger of working in the proximity of moving machinery if adequate protection is not provided.In fact, operators do have to adjust the plate and clean the rollers. They stop the machines in order to do this but are able to use manual controls to operate them briefly. When doing this they coordinate with their colleagues in the control boxes or where possible activate machines directly from local control boxes at a safe distance from the line.There is obviously a clear difference between simple operation of the individual machines and the more complex tasks which operators are required to carry out when these machines form an integral part of a whole plant.Solving the problem of devising safety systems for rotating, pressing or cutting machines which form part of a whole plant has always been a major concern in terms of the safety of staff working in direct contact with this machinery.Hence the aim is to carry out a pilot research project concentrating on two specific lines - the pickling and decarburization lines - to devise, construct and instal suitable protection systems and safety equipment at a reasonable cost. It must be possible to fit the equipment to all existing machinery so that operators either do not have to work near moving parts or can do so easily and safely in compliance with regulations.Current legislation views these plants as individual tools or machines which should be protected by permanently fixed guards or by devices which stop the machines as soon as limbs cross safety thresholds.Although these safety systems are adequate in the case of individual machines which operate independently, they are not sufficiently responsive in cases where these machines form an integral part of a whole plant, particularly when operating speeds limit the time available for manual operations. Programme(s) ECSC-WORKSAFE C - First joint research programme (ECSC) "Safety in the European Coal and Steel Community industries", 1989-1993 Topic(s) 3 - Specific safety requirements of the steel industry Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme Data not available Coordinator Acciai Speciali Terni SpA EU contribution No data Address Viale B. Brin 218 05100 Terni Italy See on map Total cost No data
