Posted by Carl Jones on February 27, 2000 at 18:26:04:
In Reply to: emergency rescue through horizontal man hole posted by J.P. Des Becquets on January 07, 2000 at 11:55:19:
: We need to find a system or equipment to assist us in an emergency rescue through a horizontal man hole if a worker should have a medical problem while working.
: This would be used in paper machine dryers which are equiped with same size man holes as boilers.
: Thanks for any help you can provide.
There is no easy fix. I inspected boilers and dryer rolls for almost 19 years. The problem you face with dryer rolls is that onces a person
is inside the dryer, even if the manhole is rolled and accessible from the 6:00 O'clock position, there are ledges with very sharp turns which
do not accomodate easy egress. Unlike the turned knuclke in most water tube boilers which if you can get the feet through, there is a chance
to drag a person out. There becomes a great bit of anger when this is suggested by some. The anger comes from the fact that the drum internal
parts, bolts, screens, chemical lines, scrubbers are what you have to drag the person over and past. There are a number of possiblities that
the person being removed from within the drum would suffer additional cuts and laserations and possibly lose an ear or eye. If you are worried
just think how I felt! But, a few laserations might very well be the least of the problems. It might be a good practice to have additional
help inside the unit, albeit trained for emergency actions. As far, getting back to it, the dryer rolls. Wow, even going in and out on my own I
never got through them without serious difficulty. Clothes hang-up on the opening, and if the opening is at the 12:00 O'Clock position and the
person is short, you will have to get someone inside first to lift them up to the exit, you would not get them out otherwise. I am not being critical
of safety regulations here but some have a good potential of causing additional trauma to a person. Also, the manholes in dryers are usually
smaller than you would see in a boiler. I worked as safe as could in any confined space environment. And, luckily I never had to endure a forced
retrieval from within a vessel.