Safety Procedure

The following procedure explains the precautions all plant employees must follow whenever working on a Vacuum Heat Teat Furnace. Always perform the following safety checks prior to performing any work within the furnace tunnel and cells.

PROCEDURE:

Shutdown and Lockout the furnace before entering the furnace.
Verify all gas valves (nitrogen and propane) are closed and tagged per established Ford Lockout procedures.
NEVER open the furnace to atmosphere if the temperature is above 95 °C in any cell.

Allowing air to enter the furnace when it is above 95 °C could lead to the vaporization of all internal graphite parts!
Open both tunnel access doors for optimal ventilation.
Ventilate the tunnel and cells with fans or air cannons throughout the duration of the service.

Follow all established Confined Space Entry procedures before entering the furnace.
Check to ensure that no gases are present using a suitable sensor before entering any of these zones.
Wear a suitable mask to protect from fiber dust and particles suspended in the air.
If a load is in the Quenching Cell at the time of the service, check the temperature of the load prior to any service. If necessary, use special protection or wait until the temperature is low enough to carry out the service.
NEVER drill, tap or grind anywhere on the furnace.
When performing maintenance work on the Quench Cell or the Quench Nitrogen Tank, ALWAYS replace any removed bolts with the same bolt. Do NOT substitute bolts with any other type. These bolts are of a specific composition and cannot be replaced. If bolt replacement is necessary, contact ECM for the proper replacement bolt.
When performing maintenance work on the Internal Loader, ALWAYS replace switches and sensors with the EXACT same type. Many switches and sensors appear physically to be the same, but may be configured differently. ALWAYS replace switches and sensors in the EXACT position that they were in prior to removal.