Affected: All Forklift Battery Rooms and Charging Areas Subject: Federal safety regulations require employers to monitor and ventilate hydrogen in battery charging areas. OSHA, IFC, NFPA, and IEEE all mandate or recommend these essential safety precautions. Protect your staff and your warehouse with state-of-the-art hydrogen monitoring and ventilating equipment from BHS. Description: The Occupational Health and Safety Administration states: “Ventilation shall be provided to ensure diffusion of the gases from the battery and to prevent the accumulation of an explosive mixture.” OSHA 29 CFR 1926.441(a)(2) The National Fire Protection Association states: For flooded lead-acid, flooded nickel-cadmium, and VRLA batteries, ventilation shall be provided for rooms and cabinets in accordance with the mechanical code and one of the following: (1) The… Continue Reading
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Tech Tips
TT-978: Battery Room Safety – Signage & Posting
Clear, concise warning signs prevent accidents, alert staff of potential dangers, and contribute to a safe and well-run warehouse. According to several safety agencies signage is also a requirement to comply with federal regulations. BHS provides Signage and Posting that can be purchased as a kit or individually to ensure compliance. Description: The Occupational Health and Safety Administration states: “Caution signs shall be used only to warn against potential hazards or to caution against unsafe practices. All employees shall be instructed that caution signs indicate a possible hazard against which proper precaution should be taken. Safety instruction signs shall be used where there is a need for general instructions and suggestions relative to safety measures.” (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.145(c)(2-3)) The… Continue Reading
TT-977 Battery Room Safety – Safety Shower and Eye Wash Stations
Affected: All Forklift Battery Rooms and Charging Areas According to several safety agencies, drench showers and eye wash stations are a requirement in any battery room. BHS offers several models of emergency eye washes and showers, including a portable unit for areas without plumbing access as well as a shower/eye wash combination unit to ensure compliance. Description: The Occupational Health and Safety Administration states: “Where the eyes or body of any person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body shall be provided within the work area for immediate emergency use.” (OSHA standard 1910.151(c) / 29 CFR 1910.151) “Facilities for quick drenching of the eyes and body shall be… Continue Reading
TT-976: Battery Room Safety – Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Affected: All Forklift Battery Rooms and Charging Areas According to several safety agencies, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is required in any battery room. BHS offers complete PPE kits as well as individual items for spares / replacements to ensure compliance. Description: The Occupational Health and Safety Administration states: “Face shields, aprons, and rubber gloves shall be provided for workers handling acids or batteries.” (OSHA standard 1926.441(a)(5)) “The employer shall ensure that each affected employee uses appropriate eye or face protection when exposed to eye or face hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation.” (OSHA standard 1910.133(a)(1)) “Protective equipment, including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head… Continue Reading
TT-975: Battery Room Safety – Spill Kits
Affected: All Forklift Battery Rooms and Charging Areas According to several safety agencies, spill control is a necessity in any battery room. BHS offers a wide variety of complete spill kits as well as absorbents and neutralizing compounds to ensure compliance. Description: The Occupational Health and Safety Administration states: “Facilities shall be provided for flushing and neutralizing spilled electrolyte, for fire protection, for protecting charging apparatus from damage by trucks, and for adequate ventilation for dispersal of fumes from gassing batteries”. (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(g)(2)) The International Fire Code states: “An approved method and materials for the control and neutralization of a spill of electrolyte shall be provided in areas containing lead-acid, nickel-cadmium or other types of batteries with free-flowing… Continue Reading
TT-974: Powered Roller Chains
Models Affected: Battery Extractors with Powered Rollers Subject: The powered rollers on Battery Extractors not only assist in moving batteries onto and off of the extractor, but also act as a brake, holding the batteries in place during machine operation. Ensuring this system of rollers is functioning properly is vital to efficient and safe operation of the extractor. Description: Each compartment of rollers is controlled by one motor directly coupled to the first roller. The additional rollers are linked together by a series of chains. Failure of one of the powered roller chains could result in all but one of the rollers spinning freely. Without the powered rollers, loading and unloading a battery will be quite difficult, and the loss… Continue Reading
TT-973: The Advantages of Dedicated Operators
Models Affected: All Battery Extractors Utilizing dedicated personnel to perform battery changes can provide several advantages over individual forklift operators changing their own batteries. Utilizing a dedicated extractor operator can lead to higher efficiency per battery change leading to substantial savings long term as well as increasing the longevity of the equipment. Description: Dedicating an operator to the battery handling process creates responsibility and accountability for the equipment. Without designated operators, there is typically no traceability if there is damage to the battery room equipment, meaning responsible parties cannot be identified when damage is found. This leads to less care being taken with the equipment. Every operator utilizing the battery changing equipment also leads to less familiarity with the equipment… Continue Reading
TT-972: BTC Caster Alignment
Models Affected: All BTC models (non track-mounted) Properly aligning the front rigid casters on BTC units is necessary to ensure ease of movement as well as maximizing caster life. Description: Though the front casters on the BTC models are rigid mounted casters, the mounting holes to secure the casters to the frame are slightly oversized. This can lead to some variance in the angle at which the casters are mounted. If not properly aligned at the time of installation, one or both casters could “pull” to one side or the other causing the outer frame to spread apart and then “pop” back to normal. This increases the effort required to manuever the BTC and could also result in premature wear… Continue Reading
TT-971: Wash Cabinet Timer Settings
Models Affected: BWC-2 and BWC-3 The BWC control box, depending on model and options, can contain up to three timer relays. All three are set from the factory but can be adjusted, if necessary, by simply turning the dial to the desired setting. Description: The door delay timer, available on the BWC-2 only, delays both the door opening and the start of blow-off cycle once the wash cycle has completed. This allows the battery to drain inside the cabinet before being transferred to the rack, minimizing the amount of excess water draining from the battery onto the floor, extractor, and battery stands. The door delay is set at 2 minutes from the factory. The neutralization cycle timer, available on units… Continue Reading
TT-970: BWC Photo Eye Operation and Maintenance
Models Affected: BWC-2 and BWC-3 Models The Battery Wash Cabinet (BWC) wash cycle starts by inserting a battery into the cabinet. As it reaches the back of the cabinet, a photo eye is activated, the door closes and the wash cycle begins. If the photo eye does not activate properly, or activates prematurely, damage to the battery or cabinet could occur. Description: The photo eye has three indicator lights to identify its operational status. Current models have an amber light indicating power to the photo eye, a red light indicating proper alignment with the reflector, and a green light indicating output. On some older units the light layout may differ. The BWC utilizes the photo eye in “light-on” mode, meaning… Continue Reading
