Workplace health, safety and wellbeing for Deep Drawing Units: keeping hands clear of the die
On a draw press the injury risk sits in the few seconds when a hand feeds or removes a part near a moving die. Health and safety here is mostly habit, supervision and fair pace.
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Share your requirementsWhy workplace health, safety and wellbeing matters in deep drawing units
Without a routine, safety on a press floor depends on who is on shift. A guard is lifted to clear a jam and not put back. A new helper learns the feeding rhythm by watching a tired pair. Dies of real weight are lifted with whatever is nearby. Noise wears people down slowly and nobody records it. The pressure to hit the day's count makes each shortcut look reasonable at the time.
Good looks quiet and repeatable. Every shift begins with a short talk at the press about guards, two-hand controls and the rule that nobody reaches in while the ram can move. Supervisors check guards before the first stroke. Die lifting has named people, proper aids and a clear zone. Hearing protection is issued and worn, and tired crews are rotated off the feed station before the pace turns careless.
How to set it up
1. Walk each press and list the guard faults
Go press by press with the supervisor and a setter. Note any guard removed, tied back or defeated, and any two-hand control that has been bypassed. Fix the list before the next shift, and record who fixed what.
2. Start every shift with a press briefing
A short talk at the line, led by the supervisor, on one risk each day: guards, jams, die changes or housekeeping. Keep it about this press and this week, and have the crew sign a simple sheet.
3. Set rules for clearing a jam
Write one rule: stop the ram, isolate, then clear with a tool, never by hand. Show it on the press itself. Ask setters and operators where jams happen most, so the rule matches the real problem.
4. Give die lifting a trained crew and a clear zone
Only named setters and helpers lift dies, using the crane or trolley made for it. Mark the zone, check slings before lifts and keep a near-miss book. See workplace health, safety and wellbeing for how we shape such routines.
5. Rotate feed and removal roles to manage fatigue
Move pairs between feeding, removing and trimming through the shift, and keep breaks that are honoured. Watch the first hour of any new part more closely, since errors cluster there.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Walk every press and count guards that are bypassed, removed or tied back.
- Read the near-miss book, or ask the setters what has nearly happened, for the last six months.
- Count how many people lift dies and how many of them have had practical training.
- Ask three operators whether hearing protection is issued and worn on their press.
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Questions owners ask
Only a person who has been shown the isolation step and is authorised by the supervisor. The rule should be written at the press, and everyone, including senior setters, should follow it.
Ask why they do it. Usually the guard blocks the part path or slows the stroke. Fix the guard design with the setter, and make clear that defeating one is a serious matter, not a speed trick.
Issue hearing protection that fits, replace it when worn and watch whether people wear it. Rotate people out of the loudest spots. Check any measurement or testing duty with a qualified professional.