Posted by Carl Jones on February 27, 2000 at 18:30:07:
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 eggres. 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.