Despite the disability, it is safe

Work safety in sheltered workshops

Zhan's sheltered workshop produces a wide variety of workpieces, including complex equipment. The machine park is also varied - from saws to punch presses to welding equipment. But what are the labor protection standards here? Taking boschert punch as an example, this question can be well answered.

Disability, whether mental or physical, usually leads to discrimination in daily life. This also applies to his working life and therefore to an important aspect of his personal identity. Workshops for persons with disabilities embody the concept of providing opportunities for those who cannot be employed in the general labour market due to the type or severity of disability to work in special workshops, support them, integrate them and take care of them. Of course, labor protection measures should also be taken here.

Under economic pressure

The total turnover of the studio for the disabled in Germany exceeds 1 billion euros per year and has about 250000 employees. Given these figures, it is not surprising that workshops for persons with disabilities not only play an important social role, but also represent a considerable economic factor. Therefore, the machine in the workshop is of great significance. Therefore, the labor protection of the equipment must naturally comply with relevant standards and instructions.

The sheltered workshop of Cham oberpfalz betreoungs GmbH must also meet these requirements. Since 1972, they have been pursuing the goal of integrating persons with disabilities into their normal daily life and work world. Guided by the market economy, the company has developed steadily over the years. For example, this can be seen from two adjacent guest houses, which accommodate 82 people at the same time. This growth is also reflected in the new production workshop and warehouse covering an area of 600 square meters built only in 2009. At present, the shelter workshop in Zhanjiang has a production area of more than 1800 square meters and a warehouse of 2100 square meters. In addition, there are 19 lean elevators in operation in the shipping area.

Machine parking with top equipment

This growth has also been extended to the machinery park characterized by a wide variety, and recently to the stamping press of boschert GmbH + Co.KG. The processing machinery produced by this machine manufacturer from L ö rrach is less than five kilometers away from the German French Swiss border triangle. It has been regarded as a qualified partner for machine users since 1946. Bosch provides a variety of slotting and punching machines, which are now famous in almost every sheet metal processing company.

Boschert compact rotation index machine tool installed in Zhanjiang asylum workshop provides CNC stamping technology at a moderate price. At the same time, customers are impressed by the versatility of the machine. For example, even larger workpieces can be easily processed due to user-friendly software functions (rotation, rotation, repositioning, etc.). All tools can rotate up to 105 mm in diameter. The potential hazards of such machines exist in moving workpieces, metal plates and possibly in feeders, tools and tool changers. The classic and established safety solution for such machines is a channel guard with multiple beam safety devices, such as all beam safety devices or multiple beam safety devices in Cham.

Security uncompromising

A new type 4 multi beam safety device of MLD 500 series is adopted here. Sensor manufacturer Leuze electronic has installed MLD sensors in its product series since the beginning of 2010, and the installation quantity has increased steadily, especially in the field of sheet metal processing machinery. Here, for cost / benefit reasons, channel protection on multiple sides or omni-directional protection system with multiple beam safety devices represent the most advanced technology.

"We attach great importance to safety," said Josef lankes, who is in charge of the shelter workshop of Zhanjiang equipment project. He explained the importance of work safety in his area. "That's why our employees have fewer accidents than any normal production plant."

He has a clear statement on the qualifications of employees: "we must carefully evaluate which person is suitable for which job. Then there will be no problem." Joseph Franks knows what he's talking about because he can look back on 25 years of experience in the shelter workshop. After technical training, he decided to work in the shelter workshop and then take part in further qualification and additional special education training - he never regretted it.

Meet growing demand

Josef lankes meets the growing needs of the industry with a modern production environment and well-organized processes (customers include, for example, BMW or Krones in Regensburg). For example, the conversion to CNC technology was successfully completed in the workshop in the 1990s. In addition, Joseph Franks has a strict success orientation. As far as the work safety sensor is concerned, for him, the main aspect is "function must be ensured"

There, he can rely entirely on Leuze electronic's MLD multi beam safety device. These sensors can be trusted that the transmitter receiver system can work reliably even in the range of minus 30 ° C and 70 meters.

Independent photoelectric protection devices (such as Cham) have special requirements in terms of installation, stability and alignment quality. The UDC equipment mounting column and UMC deflector column of Luze electronic allow the MLD multi beam safety equipment to be installed directly and stably on the floor. The column is firmly fixed on the floor to reliably protect the sensor from damage with its solid structure. Accurate vertical and axial alignment of equipment is a simple choice. The spring element at the bottom of the device column ensures automatic reset after mechanical impact (impact, knocking). The MLD sensor is simply fixed in a den UDC equipment column with a clamping bracket.

Setup - simple and efficient

During the setup process, the MLD sensor assists the machine installer through LED and easily recognizable 7-segment display. This simplifies checking the correct function and troubleshooting if necessary. Using the information displayed on the 7-segment display, the user can immediately determine the cause of sensor behavior and take appropriate countermeasures, such as cleaning the front screen, checking the wiring, correct operation mode and similar measures.

In addition, the sensor has many functions that are really helpful to machine manufacturers and operators, such as the integrated laser alignment aid, which makes it very easy to install maintenance guards in Cham. The laser beam activated on the transmitter side can make the reflective elements on the receiver emit visible light for a long distance, so that the installer can immediately identify whether the relative position between the equipment is correct. If the deflector is used for protection, such as in Cham, the laser beam is used to align the continuous deflector columns one by one and adjust each deflector correctly. This is fast and easy to perform, even over long distances - setup time can be greatly reduced in this way.

Satisfied with safety standards

For Joseph Franks, job safety is the most important topic - despite the need for high productivity. With Leuze electronic, he can be sure that one will lead to another, and they don't have to represent contradictions. He was convinced that the complete safety related concepts were perfectly balanced in the system and concluded: "with Leuze's beam device, our stamping machine (mainly used for small batch production of nameplates) was perfectly protected."

MLD 500 multi beam safety device

Industry / field

Machine tool (sheet metal processing)

task

Channel protection

application

Work safety in sheltered workshops