Two or three issues regarding the supervision of autoclaves
Two or three issues regarding the supervision of autoclaves
Autoclave is a pressure vessel included in China’s special equipment catalog, and its production (including design, manufacturing, installation, renovation, repair), operation, use, inspection and testing are all under supervision. Due to the requirements of production technology, autoclaves generally have the characteristics of large volume, heavy weight, high pressure, and diverse safety accessories. It is widely used for steam curing of building materials such as aerated concrete bricks, gray sand bricks, and pipe piles, as well as in production projects such as rubber refurbishment, steam curing of composite glass, high-temperature treatment of fibrous products, drying and anti-corrosion of wood, and cable vulcanization. Due to the large product of its working pressure and container volume, once an accident occurs, the released energy is enormous, posing a huge threat to personal and property safety.
The following issues are prone to occur during the regulatory process:
1. The management system cannot be effectively implemented
Due to the fact that the main users of autoclaves in the jurisdiction are production units of pipe piles and aerated concrete bricks, the real estate industry has a clear orientation towards users. The management team, equipment managers, and equipment operators of autoclave enterprises have a high turnover rate. Enterprises do not understand the importance of safety management systems and operating procedures, are not familiar with relevant laws and regulations, and have weak operability in the management systems they have developed. In the process of formulating relevant regulations, some enterprises did not integrate the control of risk points, and the formulated regulations were not effectively implemented.
2. Equipment cannot be effectively maintained
The production conditions of the steam autoclaves in the jurisdiction are relatively harsh. The steam autoclaves are exposed to wind, sun, and rain, and the equipment is used in a high temperature and humidity environment with large dust. The quick opening safety interlock protection device of the autoclave is prone to damage and malfunction. Upon inspection, it was found that the daily maintenance and upkeep of the autoclave and its safety accessories by the user were inadequate. The safety interlock protection device malfunctioned, the safety accessories were not calibrated on time, and the equipment system was leaking and leaking without rectification.
3. Weak safety awareness among workers
Due to the constraints of the operating environment for autoclaves within the jurisdiction, there is a high turnover of special equipment operators, their quality is relatively low, and the training provided by the using units is not sufficient, resulting in a weak safety awareness among the operators of the equipment. In daily work, due to the cumbersome operation and long unlocking time of the safety interlock protection device for quick opening doors, which affects production efficiency, there are behaviors of manual dismantling or intentional non use of the safety interlock device for quick opening doors. In order to cope with inspections, some workers in certain enterprises only activate the quick opening interlock device when government departments organize inspections. They ignore the importance of safety production when the inspectors leave and return to their original state.
4. Personnel with certificates cannot meet the requirements for employment
The harsh conditions of the unit using the autoclave have led to a high turnover of workers. Some companies are unable to hire qualified personnel to operate the equipment in a timely manner when certified special equipment operators leave, resulting in situations where operators work without a certificate.
In recent years, with the improvement of people’s production and living standards, special equipment has been widely used in daily life. Due to its special working performance, its safe and reasonable use is related to the property and life safety of the general public. In previous special equipment accidents, we can see that the occurrence of accidents is largely due to human error. At present, the various operators of special equipment directly determine the safety of equipment use, but due to their high work mobility, it is difficult to achieve point-to-point promotion and standardization. The current regulatory model focuses more on the supervision of equipment, neglecting the promotion, education, and training of “people”, and neglecting the education on the safe use of special equipment for the public. It is difficult to adapt to the regulatory requirements under the new form if the regulatory approach is not changed, starting from managing “people” and truly implementing the main responsibility of enterprises.