Foundry clothing – what are the considerations?

11 September 2019

Foundries are one of the most challenging working environments.  Statistics indicate that within the molten metal sector, on average, 23 employees in every 1000 will sustain injury that will prevent them from working for at least 3 days.  This is three times the average for manufacturing and four times the rate for the UK workforce as a whole.  Molten metal incidents can cause severe injury, often resulting in permanent disability.

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, requires employers to provide suitable protective clothing and equipment for their employees when exposed to risks such as those present in foundries and castings environments, which cannot be completely controlled by other means.

A thorough risk assessment needs to be carried out to establish risks and to enable you to select the correct items of foundry clothing for the application taking place.  When selecting foundry clothing, consider:

• The processes that are taking place and which body parts are required to be protected
• The type of material that the garments are made from
• Their design, size and fit
• Their certification and conformity

Helmets, gloves, boots and goggles will mostly always be necessary. In addition, further foundry PPE is necessary, according to the individual worker and their personal working environment.

General requirements according to job role

Foundry clothing should be tailored to the individual and their job role/task.  The following is a general guide only.

Cupola man/woman, furnace man/woman, Caster (large castings), Lift truck driver

• Whole body protection – aluminised jacket/trouser

Caster (small castings)

• Lower body protection – aluminsied trouser/FR shirt/aluminised apron

Die caster

• Lower body protection – aluminised trouser/aluminised apron

The garments should adhere to the following points:

• Overlapping seams on the exterior of the garments
• Jackets should be long in order to cover the top of trousers, including when the wearer bends over
• No external pockets
• No metal fastenings
• Fastenings at the neck should be close fitting
• The material should be lightweight

Conformities

Ensure that the foundry PPE that you select is made to the correct specifications and has the CE mark.  Tusker Industrial Safety manufacture a range of foundry clothing in the UK which conforms to the following specifications:

BS EN702 Class 1 (contact heat)
BS ENISO.6942.2002 Class 4 (radiant heat)
BS ENISO.15025.2002 Neg (flame)
BS EN348 Class 4 (small splashes molten metal)
BS ENISO.9185.2007 Class 2 (large quantities molten metal)
BS EN388 Class 1 (abrasion resistance)
BS EN388 Class 2 (tear resistance)

You can see the range of foundry clothing available from Tusker Industrial Safety in the PPE section of our online catalogue here.

Please call us for advice, or to discuss your requirement on +44 (0) 1752 201000.

 

Written By Sharon Shaw