FINALIST - Health and wellbeing
Testing asphalt for constituent compliance has long been a manual operation where technical operatives are potentially exposed to hazards presented by Dichloromethane solvents or high temperature ignition furnaces (+700C)
The current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for methylene is an 8-hour time-weighted average concentration of 500 parts per million (ppm), with a ceiling concentration of 1000 ppm, and a maximum peak concentration of 2000.
Aggregate Industries has invested heavily in methods of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) to achieve PEL but found that these control measures created an uncomfortable working environment for the testing technicians.
However, inspite of the safety hazard control of fume cabinets and/or PPE in the form of eye wear and gloves, safety incidents still occured due to the uncomfortable nature of the PPE and repetitive nature of the testing.
Viewing the task using ERICPD as the hierarchy for control, Aggregate Industries researched and implemented the latest European technology to eliminate and reduce the risks identified rather than simply rely on PPE equipment.
Please view the video to see the equipment that Aggregate Industries installed to resolve this problem