Why Some Industries Are Using Non-Sparking Tools
The non sparking tools have gained immense popularity in the industrial sector for their non-sparking properties. They are even referred to as a panacea for all tool jobs that need to be performed in confined spaces and environments with flammable dust, gases, vapors, and fluids. The tools ensure 100% sparkless operations and help different industries to facilitate safety in the working environment.
The tools hold great importance in industries like petrochemical plants, offshore, refineries, mining, shipbuilding, and others as they provided them a method to carry their daily operations with ease. They are an ideal alternative to traditional hand tools that generate sparks, which can cause a fire hazard in an environment containing flammable contaminants.
By using non-sparking insulated tools in any of the APEX areas, you can prevent sparks that generate when two metals come in contact. The tools also go by the name safety tools and serve their purpose in environments containing flammable contaminants, such as dust, gas, vapors, and fluids. The spark-resistant tools have replaced traditional hand tools that cause friction and, in turn, create sparks that result in fire and explosion. While working in confined areas and ATEX zones, even a single spark can cause an explosion of a disastrous magnitude.
If you are looking forward to ensuring workplace safety, investing in the non-sparking hand tools can be the best course of action. The tools are made of non-ferrous metals, such as bronze, brass, copper-beryllium alloy, and copper-aluminum alloy that do not ignite spark when in use. You can find these tools in a range of options so that you can go for the ones that meet your industrial requirements.
Different industries use different hand tools to carry day-to-day applications. Here we are listing a few industries in which using hand tools is crucial:
- Oil Rig Maintenance: Oil rigs are one of the most vulnerable APEX zones owing to which non-sparking tools are a crucial part of the safety protocol there. The tools will prevent the occurrence of sparks and more likely to prevent a number of potential explosions. The same goes for other natural gas mining industries.
- Auto Mechanical Maintenance: In this industry, it is not necessary for workers to use spark-resistant tools. But if the car has a full gas tank, caution might be the best practice. The chances of a spark igniting the gas tank of an automobile is a little less but still not worth taking a risk.
- Hospital Equipment Repair: The tools serve their purpose in explosive environments and are a great option to repair and maintain health equipment. Machines like MRIs are backed with a big magnet to scan the brain; the same can be maintained with the respective tools (containing no iron) without impacting the equipment’s magnetic properties.
- Chemical Handling Equipment: You can easily find equipment like conveyor belts, pickers, forklifts, and carts in the chemical industry, and the same demands timely maintenance and repair. Additionally, flammable substances can also be found in the chemical industry that can easily catch fire with even one or two sparks. That’s why it is crucial to use non-sparking tools in such industrial environments.
- Ammunition Plants: Ammunition plants are not less than bombs ready to explode. In these plants, weapons are manufactured that are quite flammable. The risk of fire and explosion is the highest in these industries, and the same is the need for non-sparking insulated tools.
In the industries mentioned above, safety is a major concern. Working with flammable materials or powerful magnetic equipment can be highly risky if you do not use the right tools. That makes the non-sparking hand tools a non-negligible part of any balanced toolkit.
While using these tools, the industries must follow all the safety measures to reduce the risk of fire and explosion to zero. Here are some of the safety measures that every industry using the tools must follow:
- Proper cleanliness: It is of high importance that you keep hand tools clean and prevent the gathering of dust around their end corners. Rusted tools are more prone to generate sparks, triggering hazardous fires, and explosions.
- Routine maintenance: Frequent maintenance of tools will enhance their durability and also improves the efficiency by a few notches.
- Ventilated spaces: Ensure that you store the hand tools in spaces with cross ventilation so that moisture dust does not gather around them over time. Dust accumulation leads to erratic sparks and fires in vulnerable circumstances, and proper ventilation helps to avoid it.
Follow user manual: Strictly follow the user manual that came with the hand tools. It will provide you with information about dos and don’ts so that you can use the tools precisely.