Increasing Safety for Press Operators

Adrian Steel Company

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

July 28, 2015

Proposal report
Number AS-RTL-0234

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

Adrian Steel Company

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

July 28, 2015

Research Team
Gabrielle M. Herriman
Elizabeth E. Herriman

Proposal Report
Number AS-RTL-0234

Read and Approved:

___________________

____________
Date

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Gabrielle and Elizabeth Herriman propose that the Adrian Steel purchase AKAS
II laser curtains for their presses and get rid of the time constraints on press operators.
The company purchased new foot pedals after the first incident of someone getting their
fingers caught in a press. However, these foot pedals proved to be faulty and
unsuccessful as there was another incident about five months later. Our analysis of the
problem revealed that the time constraints made people competitive and the presses
had inadequate safety features on them to protect the press operators.
Problems with the presses are as follows:
1. The presses need a better safety feature to ensure that no one loses a
limb in the press.
2. The time constraints make people by pass safety features in order to
make or beat the time required.
So we evaluated some solutions to these problems:
1. Buying a new safety feature (AKAS II) at a cost of $500 apiece. This will
ensure that no one gets there fingers caught in the press in the future.
2. New forming cards be printed without the time constraints on them.
Around $200 to complete this. This will help with operator safety as there
will no longer be a time on the card to beat.
We recommend these solutions because they will solve the problem for the least
amount of money. The Company will save money in not having to pay for workmans
comp and hospital bills as there wont be people getting hurt on the machines.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

Introduction:
Press operators have one of the most dangerous jobs in a factory. Their job
requirements include:

Setting up the press

o Putting in dies
o Choosing the correct computer program

Operating the press

Measuring the product

o Making sure the product is the right dimensions

They also have to worry about getting cut by the steel and keeping their limps out of the
press as they work.
Most factories try to make this job safer by using different features on the press and
giving the operators safety gear.
Adrian Steel prides itself on safety and provides its operators with many safety features.
These features are:
Safety glass
Caviler to protect forearms
Steel gripping gloves
The inch rule
Foot pedal safety
One machine has a laser shield
Unfortunately, in the last two years the company has had two people lose their fingers to
a press. The cases were very similar as the two were forming the exact same part when
the incident happened. However, they were on two different presses. So we propose
Adrian Steel to implement an attachment to the presses so that they are safer for the
operators and to get rid of the time constraints on the forming cards.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

Problem:
On July 15th 2014 press operator Elizabeth Herriman started her day as normal on
press #84. Shortly after lunch she prepared her press like she normally did to prepare
for the next task. She was running part number 2026 like she had many times before.
However, approximately thirty minutes after she began this task a frightful event
happened. She cannot recall exactly how it happened but somehow she got the tip of
her middle finger on her right hand caught in
the press. As she pulled her hand out of the
press she noticed that she no longer had the
tip of her finger left. The tip of her finger was
still in her glove in the press. Adrian steel had
to call in an ambulance and she was taken to
the local hospital where she had to set up an
appointment to undergo surgery resulting in
her having fifteen stitches put into the tip of
her finger to close the wound. They told her
that they couldnt save the tip of her finger
and that they would have to do a skin stretch
to cover the bone that was visible from the
wound.
Upon this event happening the factory had to
Figure 1: Elizabeth's hand after the incident.
shut down the press she was operating and
do a full investigation on what happened.
After the investigation was over,
management concluded that the safety restraint on the foot petal was tied up. Elizabeth
had been running this machine without even knowing that the safety feature was tied
up. Upon investigating they believe that Elizabeth dropped a part and reach down to
pick it up with her foot still on the petal and her hand rested on the forming die.
Upon reflecting on this incident Elizabeth began to look over what might have caused
her to have this unfortunate event happen. After contemplating she came to a
conclusion on how the jobs have time cards and each job has a certain amount of time
that the job is supposed to be done by. She was told at the beginning of her
employment not to worry about these times and if she was in the red that it would be ok.
However, being the competitor she is she made it a goal each day to try and beat these
times so that she wasnt in the red for the day. Many of the operators in the factory do
this as they dont want to be the person in their department that looks like they are
slacking on the job. By trying to beat these times she can remember trying to find every
way possible to save even just seconds on the task at hand. She believes that this
feature helped contribute to what happened that day. This is why we are also proposing
the company get rid of their time restraints.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

Approximately five months after this event happened another horrible event occurred.
Jane Doe (to protect this person) was working on a press similar to the one that
Elizabeth was working on. She was running the same part number 2026 and got three
of her fingers caught in the press. The press bent three of her fingers on her left hand
sixty degrees backwards. When she got to the hospital they said they couldnt save any
of her fingers and had to amputate her three middle fingers and luckily they could save
her pinky. She now only has nubs for her three middle fingers on her left hand. Even
worse she was left handed and now has to learn how to do everyday tasks with her right
hand. Upon investigation of this incident they discovered that the foot pedal was faulty
and that it did not go back up when she put all of her weight on the pedal. After hearing
about this incident my sister Elizabeth and I began researching attachments that the
company could buy to put on their presses to make the operators job safer. This is why
we are proposing an attachment for the presses.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

Safety features already in place

Currently the factory has a few safety
features in place to protect the
operators. One of these features is
the foot pedal. The current foot
pedals have been changed since
Elizabeths accident as the old ones
were replaced with foot pedals that
were mandatory for the safety shield
to be down while the operator had
their foot out of the pedal. These foot
pedals are also supposed to make
the press go up when the operator
puts too much pressure on the pedal.
However, this device proved to be
faulty as it did not work in the second
incident as the press did not release Figure 2: Current foot pedal in use
and go back up and another worker
had to come and get the press to go up to release Jane doe from the machine.
Some safety equipment such as safety glasses and caviler are also in place so that the
operators dont get cut by the sharp metal or get metal fragments in their eyes. The
company has also invested in better gloves to grip the metal since it is so oily and
normal gloves make it nearly impossible to hold onto the steel.
The inch rule is in place for when your fingers have to be closer than six inches away
from the die when forming a part. This means that the top die can only be inch above
the bottom die when forming the metal. This makes it nearly impossible to get your
fingers caught between the two dies.
The older Amada Press number 56 has a laser shield in which if you break the beam it
will stop the machine. For this machine the operator must stand back away from the
machine as it forms the part or they will break the laser and machine will stop running.
This seemed like a great safety feature and would help us in our research in finding a
solution to solve our problem.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

Objectives:
Before developing our research we determined that our attachment for the presses
needed to have some key features to them.
These features are:

Relatively inexpensive to buy

Must be able to attach to the make and models of the presses

o Cincinnati and Amada

Durable and sturdy

o Must withstand hot temperatures up to 110F
o Undergo constant pounding

Quality/Reliable product
o Last for many years
o Have a good review of the product

Clearance to perform the task

o The attachment must not slow down the production process

As for the time restraints on the time cards we determined that we needed to see if
there was a real necessity for them and if we could answer a few questions.
These questions are:
.
Can the job be performed without the time restraint?

What is the time restraint being used for?

o No one actually gets punished for being in the red
o Why are they necessary?

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

Solution:
Upon looking at the previous safety features that the company has on their
presses we discovered that the foot pedal was not the best attachment to make the
press operators job safer. However, we began to look into the laser curtain as it
seemed to be a good solution to our problem.
The current laser curtain on the old Amada would not work however for the
forming presses because the operator have to be too close to the machine when
forming the part and would break the beam every time. So we began to look for a beam
that was set up closer to the dies which would solve the problem with not being able to
use the old laser.
Our results showed that a light safety curtain like the AKAS II Press Brake Laser Safety
system would be the best
solution. The curtain
allows the operator to be
close to the press and still
be in a safe environment
when running the press.
They also will not break
the laser beam like they
would on the previous
model.
How this laser curtain
works is there are three
laser beams running a
Figure 3: AKAS II Model Laser Curtain Safety System
crossed the machine.
There are two beams that run parallel with the top which allow the top die to come down
between the two laser beams. The third beam is located just above the back beam
approximately inch higher than the two bottom beams to ensure when forming boxlike shaped pieces there can still be a safety mechanism in effect even though one of
the beams is turned off due to the forming style.
As the laser curtain runs across the press die if anything larger than the sheet of metal
the operator is working with breaks the laser the press will stop. This fixes our problems
that we had from the old laser as now:
The operator can be close to the machine with the lasers running.

Protects operator so no fingers will be in the way during the task

Allows for box making

o Not possible with other laser

Relatively inexpensive to buy

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

Works on both Amada and Cincinnati

Adjusts to die sizes and metal thickness

Can withstand high temperatures

Holds up over time against the constant ramming of the press

Our solution for the time constraints on the forming cards are to not show how much
time it is supposed to take for the task to be complete. This is because the time cards
are creating numerous problems such as

Operators trying to beat them at all costs

o Disregarding safety rules

The times are nearly impossible to meet

Competitive operators will always try and meet the time constraints

The times are not needed

o No one is punished for not meeting them.

We looked into why the time constraints are on the task cards and upon talking with
management it was concluded that the time constraints were there only to determine
how much it cost for them to make each part. So we came to a conclusion that it was
fine to time each task and have the operators run it and just not put the time restraints
on the task. This solves
Operators rushing the job to beat the time

Management still has how long the job takes

o Show them how much money it costs them to make the product

So now the company will have to go through and print all new time cards for the
operators to scan. These cards however wont have the time constraints on them
solving the time restraint problem.

10

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

11

Resources:
The resources that we are going to need are:
Programming:
The presses will have to be reprogramed for the jobs it does in order for the laser
beams to work. This means our current programmer will have to learn how to program
the presses with these attachments and also how to set up the attachments so that he
can program the machine to run correctly.
Money:
Besides the money its going to take to purchase these attachments its also going to
take money to pay representatives to come into the factory from the AKAS company to
teach our current employees how to run the press with these new attachments. There
may also be other expenses later on for up keep of the attachments. It will also cost the
company money to train our current programmer how to write a new program for the job
tasks.
Time:
Its going to take the AKAS Company approximately two to four hours to install the
attachment on each press. Once this is done it will take time to teach the operators how
the beams work and how to run the press with these new attachments. They will have to
learn how to set up and run the press properly so that the beams actually work. It is
also going to take time to get the programs wrote for each forming task along with
teaching the programmer how to program the press.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

12

Schedule:
The company can install, program, test, and train in approximately two weeks.
Task
Installing
Programing
Testing
Training
Total

Hours
80
8
4
8
100

The installing process could be less depending on how big each machine is as it takes
less time to install on the smaller machines. The approximation is based off of twenty
presses each taking approximately four hours each to complete the installment.
The process should go a lot quicker after the installment is done which takes up a great
deal of the time. However, we can start programming the machines as soon as the first
attachment is installed which will cut down on the total time.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

13

Qualifications:
We have been employed as college help here at Adrian steel the last three summers
and have worked many jobs out on the factory floor. Since we have been here we have
seen firsthand how people try and beat the time restraints and how some of the safety
features are not being used properly.
As you know Elizabeth was one of the victims to lose a finger to a press. Upon this
happening it was suggested that her foot pedal was tied up without her even knowing
that it was. So we want to help protect future employees from losing a limb to a press.
Since Elizabeths accident we have done a bunch of research on how to improve these
presses because we have a personal interest in making them safer for all users. Since
this incident happened we want to fix the problem in the safest way possible. We also
know that time and money are a key factor in keeping the company profitable and on
time. That is why we have searched for the best solution for both the factory and the
operators.
Thanks to our college careers as engineers and business students we have taken a lot
of classes that help teach us how to keep both parties safe and keep the company
making money.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

14

Cost:
These new attachments are relatively inexpensive when taking into account the money
they save the company after they are installed. They will save the company both on
time it takes to make product which increases profit as well as will help prevent future
accidents and costs of medical bills for the company.
Cost of new system
Type
Attachments
Installation
Software
Training
Total

Cost
$10,000
$40,000
$2,000
$3,360
$55,360

Benefits of the new system:

Will save approximately 440 hours a year per press on run time
o Approximately $9,240 per press
Save on medical bills of those injured by press
Workmans comp wont be as high
o Due to no injurys
Profits up due to more material being formed
No presses will be shut down from injury
No fines from OSHA due to accidents

The cost of replacing the forming cards will be very inexpensive as all that needs to be
done is the cards be reprinted and laminated. The disposal of the old time cards can
also be taken into account. This task will cost the company roughly one hundred and
fifty dollars.
Comparing these costs to the money that the company loses due to fines from OSHA
because of the accidents is relatively cheap. Taking into account that when OSHA visits
the press can be shut down for a few days to a few weeks depending on the incident.
On average a company can lose due to the shutdown press an average of tens of
thousands of dollars up into hundreds of thousands of dollars, let alone the cost of any
law suits that may be filed against the company.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

15

Conclusion:
This proposal supports two important conclusions:
The AKAS II Laser light safeguard produces a great safety system for press
operators. It allows for the operator to control the metal with both hands, use the foot
pedal, and have a system that stops the press in case of an accident where a limb
becomes in line with the press dies.
The change of forming cards excluding the time allows for operators to stay more
focused on the work they are doing. It eliminates the competitive nature of workers to try
and beat the clock, skipping safety precautions just to save time and stay in the green.
These changes save money and bring in more profit for the company. The safety
system allows for faster production with optimum safety. The box-shaped part bending
feature and automated tooling calibration allows for quick setup saving time and money.
As stated in the cost part of this report the number of times tooling dies are changed per
day and the programs of the press being slow as to not create any accidents inevitably
has companies losing out on money. With the safety system the presses are able to be
run at top speeds only slowing down just before the sheet of metal to form.
We greatly appreciate you taking the time to read this proposal report. We hope that
this influences you to change at least one area of the safety concerns we talked about
in this report, whether it be the time cards or a new safety laser system. These changes
would make a great impact in your employees overall safety and wellbeing. Along with
giving the employees the sense that the company takes their safety as a top priority.
Gaining trust with the employees which benefits the entire company with a smoother
and more efficient working environment. We look forward to the possibility of helping
make these changes happen to the factory work and hope that we are considered to
work on it when the decision is made.

Increasing Safety for Press Operators

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References
1. AKAS II Press Brake Safety System. (n.d.). Retrieved July 9, 2015, from
http://www.pressbrakesafety.com/akas-ii-press-brake-safety-system/
2. AKAS the category 4 Press Brake safety System for pressbrakes with finger
guard. (2014, November 7). Retrieved July 9, 2015, from
http://www.fiessler.de/e/sicherheit/akas.html
3. New AKAS Model II Laser Light Guard. (n.d.). Retrieved July 9, 2015, from
http://www.pressbrakesafety.com/news/new-akas-model-ii-laser-light-guard/
4. Safeguarding Equipment and Protecting Workers from Amputations Small
Business Safety and Health Management Series. (2001, July 31). Retrieved July
9, 2015, from https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3170/osha3170.html