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LO 6-1 Identify and describe the major safety hazards associated with engine service and maintenance

1. Types of Hazards Associated with Engine Service

LO 6-01: Identify and describe the major safety hazards associated with engine service and maintenance.

 

Types of Hazards Associated with Engine Service

A workplace hazard refers to any workplace conditions that have the potential to cause damage to equipment and vehicles, injure workers, and cause adverse health effects or death. Hazards from working on commercial vehicles can generally be categorized as those arising from:

  1. Moving, lifting, and storing vehicles and accessing the engine compartment in a shop environment
  2. Welding, cutting, grinding, and working with power tools, booms, and hoists (shop service activities)
  3. Being exposed to hazardous chemicals such as solvents, fuel and fuel additives, and battery electrolyte
  4. The engine as a source of ignition
  5. Engine exhaust emissions and hot parts
  6. Coming in contact with energy in moving parts
  7. Storage or transmission of hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, or electrical energy

Hazard management involves different methods or strategies to eliminate or control the threat any hazard poses Figure 2. For example, PPE may be used to prevent eye or foot injuries. Other hazards are controlled through elimination or isolation of hazards, engineering, or administrative methods. Technicians and supervisors have different duties but share the responsibility of identifying and implementing effective methods to manage shop hazards. It is particularly important for experienced workers to understand that novice technicians have not developed the skills necessary to identify and anticipate hazards, nor do they have the experience needed to minimize the potential dangers to themselves and others; this cannot be overstated. To help remedy this situation, these next sections will examine a few of the most common shop hazards and control methods to create a safe work environment when performing engine-related service. This coverage of safety-related topics is not comprehensive and requires further detailed training at a shop level.

   Fig06_2

FIGURE 06-2: Commercial vehicle repair facilities have an above-average number of hazards. Note the potential hazards that are effectively managed in this bus repair shop.

 

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