work place hazards employers

This mainly a question for employers We have our own work place hazards manual specifically written out for our company ( lot striping) but what we haven't got is an airless spray maintenance log book, sort of like a truckers log book but designed for airless spray, i.e a check list to be handed in at the end of the week. I think it's an important issue not only to insure the machines are safe for the employees to use but also that they are being maintained in the correct and safe manner. Does anybody have this or would another employer on here like to colaberate with me in drawing one up. In excel or some thing Cheers Wend

Other than throat seal juice, I think airless machines can go longer intervals with out maintenance (several months at a time) rather than weekly, however I would like to draw up an annual inspection type of report, that would help with the yearly parts replacements..

Thanks for your reply I agree with you in part, but I have a friend (painter and decorator) who didn't maintain his equipment, he ended up with a fluid injection because the governor went wrong or some thing the machine kept building up with pressure and the gun came away from the hose, at 1st he thought a piece of metal went through his hand by his thumb, he saw a hole through his hand, his mate rushed him into hospital, they tried to save his thumb, but by the next day when they undressed his thumb he could smell the dead flesh himself, they had to remove it..... it was touch and go if they could save his hand, he was in hospital for a good while and they managed to save his hand and transplant his little finger over to where is thumb is. The doctors told him he was lucky that it was solvent and not paint because he would have been dead...... He is the first to admit he didn't maintain his machines, and he was bxxxdy lucky. Thats why I want a maintenance check list for my staff. I will post a picture of his hand in the next day or so, just to remind people of the dangers we work with. You can tell your staff till your blue in the face, not to drag the hose on the ground, don't have the hose resting over the exhaust etc, if you have swapped hoses make sure they are on tight, but if there was an accident OSHA are going to ask YOU what you did to minimize the risk and if you have no written proof of this, they will come down on you like a ton of bricks, at least with a signed maintenance check list stating that have checked the hoses for wear and tear, they have cleaned the machines and filter as instructed, they have checked the hoses are tight, there is hydraulic fluid in the pump, the suction pipe is clean on the outside so the dried paint isn't flacking of in to your bucket and going through your machines, is there more paint on your machine than in your bucket etc.. is this being over the top .... true right it is .... I want my staff to know the machines I am providing them with are safe, I want my staff to know the machines they are using is also putting the bread and butter on their table for there families have respect and look after them. PS the machine that my friend used was an oldfields, not one of the brands we all use but still.... sorry for being so blunt but I'm quite serious about this, so if any of you have staff and would like to help out on making an airless log book could you email me..... Favorite Randy!!!!!

I agree... I also just read the article in PAVEMENT by Cormac on striper maintenance...Great article.. and helpful in building a maintenance inspection report.

I can't get that magazine over here! bluggggggh! I would love a copy of that artical. I have a lot of respect for cormac.

The high pressure issue is one reason air machines are popular with local government maintenance departments. They operate at a much lower pressure and as wend said: 2000 psi can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. You brought up a good topic for safety training, wend. I see many people train workers how to use a machine and set them up for correct operation, but fail to instruct them what to do when things go wrong, which seems more important to me. Keep it up!

wend wrote on Apr 3, 2005:Go to #5

I can't get that magazine over here! bluggggggh! I would love a copy of that artical. I have a lot of respect for cormac.

Not 100% sure but you might be able to view that at there website pavementonline.com

Wend, you might also want to give Cygnus a call, although PAVEMENT is a free publication, I think you can still have it mailed internationally for a small fee.

wend wrote on Apr 3, 2005:Go to #5

I can't get that magazine over here! bluggggggh! I would love a copy of that artical. I have a lot of respect for cormac.

I just checked on that magazine it says one issue shipped to you is $10 overseas or a one year costs you $99 Heck id be willing to scan the striper article and email you with it... Its only a few pages long.

I would say $99 would be money well spent, that magazine has tons of great info, plus it keeps you in the loop for upcoming shows etc..

Asphaltman wrote on Apr 3, 2005:Go to #10

I would say $99 would be money well spent, that magazine has tons of great info, plus it keeps you in the loop for upcoming shows etc..

And all the new toys!

Asphaltman, thanks. Wendy, let me check around and see what I have around here regarding safety. Nothing is foolproof. The injection hazard is very real as you now know on a personal level. Having injection cards with the employees in their wallet is important because the entrypoint is usually insignificant and upon injection there is not a lot of pain (initially). Another big problem is that many times doctors are unaware of the seriousness of the injury and that it does require fast attention. The card educates the doctor on the spot. I always point out that an airless sprayer is a power tool and deserves respect much as you would when using a chain saw. I can e mail a copy of the article if you would like since the editor sent it to me.

Cormac, Doesn't Graco provide free cards and safety labels for the machines? Do you just get them from and distributor? Thanks

Cormac I would really appreciate it if you could email that article you wrote, Jimbo (bless) said he would scan it for me, but if you already have it on your computer it would be easier than having Jim scan it all and upload it for me. Just when u have time. cheers Wends.

I believe safety cards and replacement safety labels are free. I know the cards are and I know one or more is included with the Instruction manual packet.

I have a graco 3900 linelazer and the 3/8" X 50' hose needs replacing. SW wants to sell me the 1/4" X 50' Blue max hose. My question is will this affect the performance of the machine and in what ways?

The larger hose helps to absorb the surge /pulsing of the pump, helping to give you a pulse free spray. The 1/4" came stock on the older 3500 models, so it would still be OK to use, infact it should be cheaper, and it will flush out sooner compared to the 3/8" hose. The only difference is in the surge / pulsing absorption.

If you spray a lot of latex with this machine, stay with the larger hose. It helps the pulsing you see with latex. If you use oil. you should not have that much of a problem. Jim

What changed from the 3500 to the 3900 that the hose diameter could be less? I have a 3500 that I am going to get new hoses for and like the thought of less cost! Does anyone have a "good deal" place to get hoses, (all of them)?

IMO, I think they figured out that with a larger diameter hose, they were able to reduce the pulsing from the pump, so it became an improved feature with the newer machines, like I said before you are still OK with using the smaller one, it will just have a little more pulsing or surging than the 3/8", and really not that noticeable at all either. You also can buy aftermarket hoses at most paint stores for significantly cheaper, however Graco will always warn about not using aftermarket products for "safety issues" I personally think it's "money and profit issues"....