Engineering controls reduce the likelihood of a worker being exposed to a hazard by designing or altering machinery, buildings, processes, or other systems. They operate on a “hazard isolation principle”, either by removing a hazardous workplace condition (such as through ventilation) or by placing a barrier between the worker and the hazard (such as through machine guards).
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What Are Engineering Controls?
Engineering controls protect employees from risky situations. Engineering controls are defined as the physical modifications made to the equipment to lessen or eliminate the likelihood that workers will sustain serious injuries as a result of a hazard. The specific procedures created to safeguard employees in the workplace are known as control measures, and they are ranked according to how effective they are. Engineering controls, administrative controls, substitution, personal protective equipment, and elimination are the control measures that are most effective in that order.
Engineering controls safeguard employees by reducing the likelihood of harm, such as installing noise absorbers to shield them from noise pollution or providing adequate aeration in areas where hazardous chemicals are present.
Purpose of Engineering Controls
Engineering controls use tools or gadgets to use equipment or devices to reduce or eliminate exposure to chemical or physical hazards. Engineering controls don’t need human skill or attention, and they operate with little to no user input. The next best course of action is to use engineering controls to shield a laboratory worker from a hazard if it cannot be removed or a safer replacement cannot be found.
In conjunction with administrative controls and personal protective equipment, engineering controls are frequently used.
Principles of Engineering Controls
- If at all possible, eliminate the risk and/or replace it with something less risky by designing the space, tools, or procedure.
- Redesigning, changing, or substituting equipment to remove the source of excessive temperatures, noise, or pressure;
- Redesigning a process to use less toxic chemicals;
- Redesigning a workstation to relieve physical stress and remove ergonomic hazards; or
- Including enough fresh outdoor air in the design of general ventilation will improve indoor air quality and create a safe, healthy environment overall.
- To avoid exposure during routine operations, contain the hazard if removal is not possible.
- Complete enclosure of moving parts of machinery;
- Complete containment of toxic liquids or gases;
- Glove box operations to enclose work with dangerous microorganisms, radioisotopes, or toxic substances; and
- noise, heat, and pressure-producing processes must be completely contained.
- Establish barriers or local ventilation to reduce exposure to the hazard in daily operations where the complete enclosure is not possible. Examples include:
- Ventilation hoods in laboratory work;
- Machine guarding, including electronic barriers;
- Isolation of a process in an area away from workers, except for maintenance work;
- Baffles are used as noise-absorbing barriers; and
- Heat shields or nuclear radiation.
Examples of Engineering Controls
- using wet techniques when drilling or grinding, or controlling temperature to reduce vapor generation
- Isolation and enclosure are designed to keep the researcher out and the chemical in, or vice versa. Glove boxes are a good illustration of enclosure and isolation. Other effective examples of processes that isolate objects include interlocks for machinery and lasers.
- Use of ventilation systems like fume hoods, snorkels, etc
Relation Between Engineering Controls and OSHA
A body tasked with ensuring worker safety in the workplace is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). PPE, administrative policies, and work practices, as well as engineering control, are OSHA’s three main lines of defense. As a result, it depends on engineering controls to establish the benchmarks required to establish a safe working environment. They are mutually dependent because they share the same objectives.
There are five levels of controls recognized by OSHA are:
- elimination
- substitution
- engineering controls
- administrative controls,
- PPE
Because OSHA believes in leaving no room for hazards, the most effective engineering control is elimination. The best way to protect employees is to ensure that there is no threat in the first place. Elimination encourages the early steps to be taken to take all necessary precautions to eliminate risks.
Importance of Engineering Controls in Construction
Engineering controls reduce worker risks and put a barrier between them and the dangers they are exposed to in construction work. Workers on construction sites are exposed to hazardous fumes like silica and asphalt. The earth’s crust contains silica dust, which clogs lung tissues and lowers lung capacity. Asphalt, on the other hand, can irritate the nose and cause coughing and shortness of breath. Engineering controls, therefore, include methods for reducing dust, such as the use of water sprays and exhaust ventilation, as well as the introduction of paver controls to reduce worker exposure to silica and asphalt during milling operations.
Workers who are exposed to hazards at work are provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) to help reduce that exposure. Administrative controls are also the instruction provided to staff members on how to reduce the harm a threat causes or what to do when threatened. Because they address the risk before endangering the employees, engineering controls are preferable to PPE and administrative controls.
Construction site hazards can come from a variety of sources, including the tools and machinery used, the energy sources used during worker training, and chemical fumes or other air pollutants.
Conclusion
Each and every safety engineering control that was installed by the manufacturer must be present and working properly. Depending on the type of equipment and the environment in which it operates, additional controls may be necessary.
