Being a business owner, keeping yourself and your workers safe at the workplace should always be your top priority. You need to ensure that all safety precautions are taken into account so that the workers do not get injured and deliver their best productivity. For instance, while dealing with laser engraving work, it is recommended to use the personal protective equipment like laser safety glasses to avoid any sort of unpleasant incidents. Here are some other safety precautions that will help you in maintaining a good working environment:
Educating the staff
It is very important that you train your staff about all the hazards and risk involved when dealing with laser. The operators should be well trained and well educated about the procedures and the rules that they are bound to follow. Apart from this, they must be accustomed to be the built in safety features as well. For instance, there are safety switches installed on the main doors that do not allow the operator to perform a laser job when the doors are open.
The Water Flow Safety Switch is designed to detect the coolant flow and works to prevent the laser from working when the coolant level is low. All these safety measures are installed according to the guidelines of regulatory authorities and must never be bypassed or changed. The workmen should be properly trained and guided before the work is handed over to them.
Safe materials to use
There are different types of lasers available these days that offer various engraving options to the business owners. However, there are some materials that should never go under laser. The materials include PVC, Kevlar and all those materials that contain chlorine.
There is a general perception among the people that one can use any material as long as the area is fully ventilated. Although ventilation is important but it never sufficient for the materials stated earlier. The workers should be taught about such misnomers so that accidents can be avoided. These materials are known for releasing gases that can cause a permanent damage to the metals on the laser. Above all, usage of these materials can make the worker ill and at times become fatal as well.
Dealing with emergencies
You must have seen movie-heroes enjoying a good explosion while dealing with lasers. Well, for you, it is better to stay away from them. There is no harm in engraving papers, woods and acrylics but you must never leave the machine unattended. You must regulate a ‘better safe than sorry’ rule at your workplace and remember to keep a fire extinguisher on hand.
Dealing with heavy items
If you are dealing with heavy items like granite monuments, then you need to be extra cautious as it calls for extra safety measures. The workers are recommended to wear steel-toed boots so that they are safe when a piece is dropped by accident. Laser safety glasses are must as well because it blocks the laser’s wavelength. The lasers that are used for engraving heavy items are quite powerful and therefore one should keep his eyes well protected. There are some pre-built laser engravers available that come with protective windows. If you have one of these, then you may not need any protective glasses. However, do check the user manual and see what safety precautions are advised when dealing with heavy objects.
Ventilation
If you are working with materials that release fume or smoke, you need to ensure that there is a proper ventilation system at the workplace. Woods and acrylics are two materials that release noxious fumes, carbon monoxide and smoke. If these fumes are not handled well with a good ventilation system, it can cause illnesses and even fatal incidences at the workplace.
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