Changes to Furnace Cleaning Processes Reduces Risk

Johnstown’s Plating Manager Mark Ringler felt uneasy and concerned for his team when he realized it was soon going to be time to empty the aluminum furnace.

Once a year, Mark’s team is responsible for cleaning out the Aluminize Furnace ahead of a shutdown when employees jackhammer anything that remains on the walls of the furnace. They then use the remaining time to address other issues in the furnace and prepare it for another year of round-the-clock service.

Imagine this—you climb onto a platform built of wood pallets and then reach down into a 1230-degree furnace with a ladle to scoop up the molten aluminum and pour it into a mold. The minute you step into the radius of the furnace, you are already sweating.

And while his team has been successful at emptying the furnace with no injuries, Mark knew it was a matter of luck and time before something happened. He wanted to make sure to get ahead of it.

So he reached out to Dan Johnson from the Safety department to talk about how to make the process safer. Along with foreman Randy Shriver, they discussed everything, from the gear the employees wore down to how they were standing. 

As they explored options, Dan looked into aluminized PPE that would protect from aluminum splashes and help reflect heat to keep employees cooler. They also bought mobile work platforms that could connect to the furnace and provide a stable surface, while allowing movement when it was time to switch out molds.

Additionally, as they looked at the possibility of using harnesses with restraint lanyards and portable anchor points, Gary Grove from Mechanical Maintenance suggested installing permanent anchor points to keep the work area open. This would ensure that even if someone were to be overwhelmed by the heat or slip, they would be restrained from falling into the furnace.

The team may have had initial reservations about the new PPE, which included aluminized aprons, aluminized leggings with spats (short for spatter guards), wool-lined aluminized gloves and sleeves, and the usual hard hat, safety glasses, face shield and required boots under the leggings. The aluminized PPE would reflect a significant amount of heat, enough to make a huge difference in how employees felt as they took turns scooping out the aluminum.

In a debrief after this year’s process, the team shared they were happy with the changes and requested additional updates to their gear. For example, the apron did a great job of repelling heat, but the top of their chests, shoulders and necks were still exposed to the high temperature. Dan is hunting down an open-back jacket or full-sleeved apron and neck shrouds for next year.

Congratulations to everyone involved for hanging in to make the process safer!