If your work involves steel, you’re among the world’s most essential workers as far as different industries are concerned. This is because there are many applications for steel and it’s therefore in high demand at any point in time. That said, there are some important things that you should keep in mind as a steel worker if you want to ensure that you don’t make any costly mistakes or even injure yourself. Read on to see five of them and keep them in mind at all times.
1. Keep Your Work Area Clean
The first thing that you need to keep in mind is that it’s important to keep your work area clean. Wipe up any spills and leaks that occur and pick up everything that shouldn’t be on the floor. Perfect the habit of keeping something where you found it after you’re done using it. This will make it easier to maintain a clean working area, which will improve your safety for sure. This will also make it safer and more efficient for you to do things such as chemical grouting, which delivers the grout using injection pipes called Tube-a-machette pipes. These typically have a steel diameter of two inches and injection ports after every few feet along the entire length of the pipe.
2. Pay Attention to Details
The details matter a lot when you work with steel. Things like temperatures and sizes must be adhered to in order to maintain safety and output standards. If anything seems amiss, it’s a good idea to trust your instincts and revert to your safety training. With the high heat and sensitivity of steel and the different processes in this industry, it’s important to always be on the lookout for maintaining safety.
3. Always Use the Right Amount of Heat
It’s a good idea to keep in mind the right temperature when you work with steel for different processes. For instance, stainless steel is not as heavy as traditional steel, so you don’t need to use extremely high heat to weld and cut it. If you do, you may weaken it and make it become thinner than it already is. This is different from doing something like normalizing, which is a heat training technique. It involves holding a part under heat as high as 1700°F and then air-cooling it to improve its consistency by increasing the ferritic grains in the steel.
4. Know the Different Processes and Techniques
When you work with steel, you should know that there are different processes and techniques for doing different things. These include metalworking, cutting, joining, casting, and forming. When you master these, it will be easier for you to know which method to apply in order to get a certain specific result. This way, you can standardize your quality and it will be a lot easier for you to get the results that you want every single time.
5. Always Use the Relevant Safety Gear and Equipment
Finally, the steel industry has a lot of extremes, and this makes it crucial to take safety measures. These should keep you safe from accidents like slips and falls, cuts, burns, and more fatal injuries. Note that a reputable metal fabricator will have safety training as a part of their quality control program. The training may include proper use of personal protection equipment like 3M masks that have welder hoods. As such, avoid working for an employer who doesn’t avail training and the necessary safety equipment.
Keep these five things in mind if you work with steel so that you can grow your career safely. Remember that at the end of the day, you’re responsible for your safety. You, therefore, need to take the necessary measures even when you’re not under supervision.
