Safety lesson is the one that maybe not the most appealing subject in too many

individuals but technically this should be the most critical and significant subject that
should be well taught to the future labors or student because this is the only subject
that yield between of you life and death with single accident it can change everything
happening in to our life. One of it is the Hazzard Communication about billions of
workers are involve in dangerous kind of work that requires safety. Not all workers
are well educated means not all workers have a same type of skills so that there
should be a leader or programs that can make them practice their safety at work. I
will be sharing in my paper my own personal experience. Because they say that the
best teacher is the experience.
I am John Michael D. Sonza studying Bachelor of Science in Mechanical
Engineering at Technological University of the Philippines Manila branch. Two years
ago, at year 2015 I finish my first course at the College of Industrial Technology
Department taking Mechanical Engineering Technology and I laddered my recent
course that I am taking. In my first course the department focuses more on skills of
individual student by doing constant shop work or making projects by understanding
the different machining process. The department holds a lot of machines that we can
use in doing our project and since its limited where just taking turns on using it. In my
years of doing shop work the word safety is always in my head because of this
heavy machinery that were using like milling machine, hydraulic press and lathe
machine. I knew the basic thinking that just don’t get hurt on it but technically I don’t
have broaden knowledges about safety. In my year of studying and doing shop work
my observation in the different type of work place on that department in order for
make you readers of my reaction paper will have a bit of imagination about the
workplace for easily understanding to what I want to say.
In my first year we are in the department of BIT which means the basic industrial
technology tackles about the basic main type f manufacturing which is the Heat
Treatment, molding, Foundry and last the welding. Those kinds of process have a
different type of workplace, the first process we do is the Foundry, foundry is process
that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a
liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after
the metal has solidified as it cools. The work place in there is very cramped and very
hot because they have single motor that enhances the ignition of fire. The first
foundry process is the sand casting which involvement of sand it very hard to do at
first because it need a manpower or you just can’t do it alone for fast production and
to many process. Since the place is cramped sometimes the ash that coming from
the burn log is going at you even the smoke you constantly breathe and can make
you choke sometimes. Those are tolerable experience you just don’t want to get any
injuries from a molten metal. I can say that facilities are lacking of many things like
safety precaution and hazard communication. That time I don’t know what is hazard
communication so its probably we can just apply it in our work place. The main
problem in that work place is the old apparatuses that we always use just like the
tong. Many of the tong has many defects it can’t properly hold the thing you want to
hold because of the bad stability of pinching of that tong and it has a tendency to fall
that might cause accident. The cramped space is hassle to because you can’t just
turn fully 360 degrees without bumping in to your classmates. The place is slightly
open and like a dumping place of scrap material. Base on my observation it has to
be in other placed and most of the material is flammable and can make a big fire that
can cause a major fire accident in the work place. In my time I don’t recall any
accident happen on that area because our prof on that subject is the one who demo
the actual process and we just watch it. The next one is the heat treatment process,
Heat treatment involves the use of heating or chilling, normally to extreme
temperatures, to achieve a desired result such as hardening or softening of a
material.
Heat treatment techniques include annealing, case hardening, precipitation
strengthening, tempering, normalizing and quenching. Heat treatment for me is the
one of the hardest in other process because its very hard and very tiring. You will
need brute strength force and goody accuracy in hammering a metal. You need
endurance to make the work faster and keen senses because immense heat coming
from the fireplace is keep radiated in your body. That’s how it became the hardest
process for me. The workplace is a bit spacious for 10 people but we are 40 so it’s a
little bit cramped if all of us do the work so our professor decided to split us in group.
But since we have a schedule to meet were group in 15 into that work place so it’s a
little bit cramped for us. The work place also has a one incinerator with a motor and
coke stone that use for enhancing the fire temperature since were heating a metal.
There are five anvils so that we can take turn while other is heating their workpiece
and the other do the hammering. There is no pictogram in the area, you can see is
smoke and ashes flying in your clothes, after you go out on the area you smell like a
burnt wood because of the smoke that stick in your clothes but we have a shop shirt
that we called the we use while working in the shop. In that process I think there are
few accidents happen on that area. One is when my class mate hammering hi work
piece while holding by the tong, the tong can’t handle properly or its because of the
unstable tong the workpiece flies into his classmate neck that cause of degree burns
and panic in the working are we rush him in the clinic for the medication. But
technically they put some medic box for first aid because we rush him without first
aid it causes a lot of pain and might got infected because of our dirty area. The other
one accident is when my classmate one is getting his workpiece from the fire place
and it was already yellow hot means it’s about in 2000 degree Celsius. He was
holding it with a tong and he rush on the anvil but didn’t notice his other classmate
two when he turn the workpiece is almost hit my classmate on the head but by the
good reflexes of classmate he shield it by its right hand and his right hand was the
one suffer the damages it became really bad because he was unable to use his left
hand for a month. They should practice the safety precaution like the hazard
communication in order for the student or trainee to be at least alert on the working
are of the area because it can reduce or prevent further accidents.
The third one is the molding process, Molding is the process of manufacturing by
shaping liquid or pliable raw material using a rigid frame called a mold or matrix. This
itself may have been made using a pattern or model of the final object. For me I think
molding safest process that just required artistry and good hand movements. It’s not
well for me because I don’t have a sense of art and not good with my hand. I think
the accident happen on that is the storing process when you put it into a higher place
like an incubator in order for it to get dry and harden. Sometime by a little stumble
the workpiece is falling and have a tendency to hit others they just put some labels
and pictogram for awareness.
The last process is the welding process that the workplace is really separate I can’t
say that it was well maintained because all the machine in there is really old. And
the place is very dusty and dirty. We practice the used of the right PPE on the are
like welding shield but we still used our shop shirt. Since it’s a cotton when the slug
is hit on your shirt it causes burn and create a hole. Sometimes it hits on our skin
and cause little burn. But in terms of hazard communication there is sign of a little
practice with a pictogram and labels that do not move the machine but I think there is
no safety precaution life don’t weld in this area it can cause burns on wooden table. I
think the wrong one the wooden table because in commonsense wood can easily
ignite but I think less expensive. The accident happen there because of lack of
hazard communication properties is when the student tries to increase the voltage of
the welding machine but it explodes while hour of using. Luckily there is no harm
done to students but it breaks the machine so the student is still suffering on the
professor wrath and lead to a lot of explaining. They should put a maximum charge
chart or pictogram the we need to call professional on the machine while changing it.
The we should not move it if we are aware on that problem. Since I finish the
technical courses I also undergo on in the job training which make me more exposed
in the industry of course at first it was culture shock because o the different kind of
intensity in school. I did not admit into a well-known company but a simple company
at the Dasmarinas FCIE or First Cavite Industrial Estate which has a lot of company
in there and my company is Sanwa company. At first, I thought it was going to be
easy since I was only a OJT student but that not what happen I work a lot and go in
other different department every week so that I learn every happened process on the
company which is a good training but really tiring but when the time goes by you can
adapt on the routine but after two months I almost mastered what doing in every
department till I permanently assigned on the production department. Means we has
a work to do that we need to entertain or assist every call of different department.
Then after a few months in there I taught on the pressing process which the
department using a hydraulic press and they pressing the materials to have a good
assembly. While I’m teaching one of the contractual I’m still explaining ho to put a
material on the die block he accidentally presses the engage button then my hand
got crush lucky it only pieces the part of my hands near on the fingers. Then I
realized that time even I and the company really not practicing safety procedures
specially Hazzard Communication there are many time that I accidentally slight burnt
my hand because I put my hand in there but no pictograms that saying that is hot or
something. What happen to me was a life changing and I will become more aware in
my surrounding always ang practice more the safety procedures. Hazzard
Communication should be practices in every company in the Philippines to reduce
accidents. Its good that OSHA Hazcom standard is implementing it and we have a
good future in this kind of projects. This safety process is just a study if we don’t
practice it or apply it on our daily live it still our responsibilities to assure our own
safety and were the one who’s moving our own body.
 Republic of the Philippines
TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
College of Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering

SAFETY MANAGEMENT AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SAFETY

JOHN MICHAEL D. SONZA

BSME-4E

Engr. Roy Tagpis

December 2017