The electrical maintenance superintendent for an auto manufacturer''s metal stamping plant was interested in finding two solutions for his destacker and transfer presses: 1) provide a failsafe LOTO (Lockout/Tagout) system, and 2) reduce the considerable downtime associated with the current LOTO practices. Remarkably, a small monitoring and controls OEM, American Mine Research, Inc, came knocking with its CB-PRO Power Safety System.
Previously, whenever a LOTO needed to be performed for tooling changes, material jams, and/or routine maintenance, the operator had to: 1) travel upstairs and walk down a catwalk to the power source and manual disconnect, 2) return to the press and perform the job, and 3) reverse the process.
The PRO reduced the original procedure by approximately 12 minutes per LOTO. By conservative estimates, the system is saving tens of hours per month in downtime on just the one press while still improving safety. To date, the plant has installed 10 systems on its presses.
Originally developed for the coal mining industry, the CB-PRO system completely replaces a molded case breaker and utilizes a microprocessor-based control unit, vacuum contactors, current and ground fault transformers, fuses, and a low-voltage remote lockout station(s). The system met the auto company''s training and risk assessment criteria, was validated by the plant''s third-party safety consultants, and ultimately proven to be a failsafe system.
"The PRO satisfies a market need we never thought of when first developed," said Willie Rose, AMR''s senior engineer and the PRO''s developer; "We believe there are multiple applications for this system across a wide variety of equipment and industries, not just metal stamping . . . anywhere high voltage, remote, failsafe LOTO could be used . . . paper and pulp, packaging, food and beverage processing, utilities." Surprisingly, the PRO has many more features: power monitoring/metering, motor protection, PLC control, and more. "There''s a lot more to the PRO than just LOTO," Rose added.