Tube producer beats the heat with portable cooling units

摘要

Protecting workers from the heat generated by manufacturing processes is an issue in many industries, and tube and pipe production is no exception. Wheatland Tube Co., Sharon, Pa., a division of JMC Steel Corp., wanted to be proactive about safety and find a way to rein in temperatures and improve worker comfort and productivity. Its Council Ave. facility in Wheatland, Pa., which employs nearly 500, has an open galvanizing area where pipe goes through at extremely high temperatures. Even with a 56,000-CFM exhaust system to vent out the heated air, ambient temperatures varied from about 80 degrees F in winter up to 120 degrees F, and occasionally higher, in summer.