Entrapped safety system
February 1st 2009

The Gordon Institute of Technical and Further Education, in Geelong, Australia has installed safety interlocks from Fortress to ensure the safety of staff and students in its carpentry area.

Two dust extraction units remove sawdust from machines in the area.

Frequent blockages occur in the extractors requiring personnel to access the units and clean them out; a serious accident could occur should someone power up the machinery while they were being cleaned.

When this safety concern was highlighted, technician, Stephen Humphries, proposed an entrapped key safety system to safeguard the area.

Fortress installed 3 CL S units and a key exchange.

To access the hazardous area, keys are removed from the machine shop lockout and dust extractors 1 and 2, which power off and isolate all machinery. These 3 keys are inserted into the key exchange releasing the 'system isolated' key which is taken by the person accessing the dust extractors.

This key guarantees their safety while they are unblocking the extraction units, and, once it is removed from the key exchange, a light flashes to signal the machine status.

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