Forging ahead with noise warning

Independently owned forgemaster SFI is renowned for its steel production and engineering. Its Sheffield headquarters is one of the iconic landmarks of the city and has a history spanning more than three centuries. The vast River Don site currently employs about 800 staff.

The company continues to supply an increasing global demand for high quality engineered products to key industries such as defence, nuclear, oil and gas exploration, power generation, marine and construction.

As one of the world’s leading forgemasters, the company operates equipment across its site where the scale is titanic. It includes: a 10,000t forging press with a fully integrated 300m tonne manipulator; a 4000t press with an 80t rail bound manipulator; and a 2500t press with a 50t rail bound manipulator

These impressive pieces of equipment all form part of the modern facilities where sophisticated forging techniques can create hollow, solid and irregular shaped forgings up to 200t in weight.

Employee safety 

Such large scale industrialised processes require high levels of health and safety monitoring, including excessive noise levels which can lead to permanent health and hearing impairment. SFI's management states: "No major decision is taken at any level of the organisation, from Board level down, without due cognisance being taken of its impact on the safety of the company's employees. Over recent years the company has made great progress in not just maintaining, but improving, its health and safety management system and accident performance.”

In the heavy machine shop that houses milling and boring machines of various sizes and capacities, SoundSigns have been installed to monitor the noise levels of the machinery and have enabled SFI to reduce the mandatory noise area. The SoundSign is a highly visible, noise-activated warning sign that has been designed for environments where there is a need to clearly warn when a preset noise level is reached.

Cirrus Research supplied SFI initially with six of its SoundSigns; this order was quickly doubled to 12 as the health and safety team realised the many benefits the SoundSign technology could bring to its metal forging production floor.

To mitigate the risk and exposure to excessive noise levels, the SoundSigns were pre-set at levels 80-85dBs – the action levels stipulated under Noise at Work legislation. These warn employees of any noise level breaches and instruct them to wear hearing protection as a result. Once the noise levels dissipate, the signs automatically switch off.

Features of the SoundSign include:
• The white LED technology allows for a high visual impact when noise levels are breached, as well as a long operating life.
•  The signs are quick and simple to install with no training required.
•  The trigger level – from 40 to 114dB(A) – can be used in any environment and were particularly suited to the heavy industrialised setting of SFI.
•  Both text and graphics are used to communicate specific noise level warnings.
•  Four standard designs cover indoor applications – from factories and manufacturing to helping monitor 'quiet' zones in hospitals and libraries.