Even a small amount of dust can cause real problems within a factory setting. Dust can harm both machinery and employees as well as products and processes, which is why dust prevention measures are so important.
Here we highlight the ways dust can become an issue and the best way to combat this.
Risk to employees
First and foremost, exposure to dust can be extremely harmful for people working within the environment. Manufacturers and construction workers alike who have long-term exposure to dust can develop serious conditions such as:
- Lung cancer
- Silicosis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Asthma
Because dust particles are so small, they can easily travel through the air, often going undetected which makes it even more harmful.
There’s also the risk of dust explosions occurring. When dust accumulates in the air and on surfaces, it increases the risk of a dust explosion. When a dust explosion does occur, it can stir up dust that has settled on surfaces throughout the facility, causing a new cloud and subsequent secondary explosion.
There has been a lot of emphasis placed on highlighting the dangers of dust for workers and the HSE regularly conduct inspections across the country to tackle the issue of site dust.
Risk to machinery
When dust travels, it ultimately settles somewhere. Whilst some can be breathed in by employees, a lot of dust can find its way on and into important and expensive machinery. Long-term dust exposure can cause machinery to break, especially if it gets inside mechanical parts, creating additional downtime and costs to carry out part replacement and maintenance.
Risk to accreditation
Companies who operate in the food and beverage manufacturing sector adhere to BRC accreditation, meaning that areas such as production and storage must be separated by a physical partition to prevent the transfer of dust.
Our cost-effective dust solution
Our Flexiwall is a semi-permanent fabric wall that is a cost-effective dust containment measure. Whilst we can’t stop your factory processes from creating the dust, with our solution, you can keep it contained and stop it travelling throughout your factory.
Quick, clean and easy to install, Flexiwall offers over a 99% dust tight seal. It’s easily fitted around existing services and penetrations and can even be relocated or removed in the future, should the needs of the business change.
Flexiwall in practice
Flexiwall has been used extensively in factory environments and many big brands from different industries have experienced the benefits of the unique fabric partition including Jaguar Land Rover, Lightweight Containers and Aperture Group.
Click here to find out more about dust prevention.