Airbus Settles Fettling Dust with Clean Air Solution from Hosokawa Micron Ltd.

Leading aircraft manufacturer Airbus places a high priority on the safety and wellbeing of personnel and when Health and Safety assessments identified a requirement to reduce the risk of employee exposure to airborne chromate (paint) dust generated during fettling operations they took prompt action. Responding to concerns over skin contamination and inhalation of chromate dust particles the Airbus Occupational Hygiene team called in expert help that assessed the risks and led to the installation of several new Local Exhaust Ventilation systems throughout the Hawker business. A multifunctional, Hawker team, set up to oversee all aspects of the development of a recommended clean air solution were involved in the selection of clean air and containment specialist Hosokawa Micron Ltd following tenders for the project. Hosokawa Micron engineers worked closely with our team refining and modifying the system specifications to ensure we achieved the optimum solution, these discussions became the catalyst for improvement in our operations which resulted in a very successful installation, which is of interest throughout other areas of the Airbus business. explained Rae Carroll, Project Engineer, Airbus. The installation included two downflow booths, one fixed fettling booth, three mobile fettling trolleys and ancillary systems, all designed, manufactured and installed by Hosokawa Micron Ltd and eliminate the need for Hawker engineers to wear personal protective equipment. Large scale parts manufacturing/assembly The downflow booths are designed to offer high levels of operator protection and product containment when generating dust during fettling, drilling and deburring of large sections of fuselage or other items not suited to the fixed fettling booth. Each booth is built over and around the fettling jig giving full workable access to the panel or unit to be trimmed or fettled during assembly. The booths offer a working area of 3m safe working depth and 5m internal width and incorporate overhead lighting to provide best working conditions. A uniform, non-turbulent, horizontal laminar airflow is generated behind the operator and flows across the working area into the rear perforated distribution plate, taking airborne dust particles away from the operators breathing zone. The exhaust air is HEPA filtered before being returned into the booth. Tests show that chromate OELs are now well below UK legal limits with workers undertaking large scale fettling activities no longer needing to wear face masks to do this work. The workers have expressed appreciation for the improved task lighting and enhanced working atmosphere. Large scale parts fettling Large scale parts fettling is now undertaken within the 2m wide fixed fettling booth. The booth with a slotted rear extract plenum is designed with a horizontal airflow of approx 2.2m3/s that takes dust particles away from the operators breathing zone. Dust particles are extracted to an external filter unit with compressed air pulse jet cleaning system. Dust collected by the filter cartridge is collected in an external sealed bin for easy removal and disposal. The system is fitted with pressure drop monitors and alarm indicators to further safeguard the operators from potential exposure to increased levels of airborne particulates. The fettling booth has been ergonomically designed for ease of use and includes overhead lighting and integral compressed air sockets that enable air-driven tools to be operated in the booth with short lengths of airline. The fully ATEX compliant system also includes vacuum extraction for removal of debris. Small parts fettling A transportable solution designed to reduce operator exposure to potentially harmful fettling dust, polishing dust and swarf created in production of painted and non-painted metal parts or panels, the booths create a safe working environment for operators undertaking polishing, drilling or filing activities where airborne particles are generated. The three plug and play back-draft extracted booths incorporate a two stage filtration system comprising of replaceable panel filter and HEPA filters to H13 grade standard. HEPA filtered air is discharged into the factory working area. Constantly monitored by differential alarm pressure gauges across the filter to provide the operator with visual indication when a filter is laden with dust and therefore may require cleaning or replacing. A high performance extraction fans ensures a reliable air flow through the booth, even when the filter cells are dirty, maintaining a safe working environment for operators. Complete with lighting and an integrated Type H vacuum cleaner for the safe removal of swarf or larger filings the wheeled Hosokawa Micron Fettling Trolleys are easily transportable around the workshop. The LEV project team and the workshop personnel have been pleased with the overall installation which has lead to a substantial reduction in the risk posed by chromate dust. The Hawker business is now ahead of other areas of the business on chromate reduction risk and the project team is now working with other businesses on site to implement the system. We are vey happy with the installation, the team from Hosokawa assisted us through the process to ensure we achieved the best solution. Everything was explained in laymens terms and the team were flexible in the hours they worked ensuring no disruption to our work in the factory; which was a great plus point. Lucy confirmed. Environment, Health and Safety Controller, Mark Richards said, We were very impressed too with the high standard of the manuals, they are very comprehensive. This has made it easier for the workers to be trained in operation of the booths and the writing of standard procedures. Rae Carroll concludes, We would recommend Hosokawa Micron Ltd to anyone, the service was brilliant.