Everybody in our industry understands that heat treating can be a dangerous business but it is a message which we believe should be repeated over and over. Recently a booklet was published in Germany in both German and English about heat treatment safety and regulations. The booklet was a joint effort and the main individual involved was Wolfram Schmid, the chairman of the AWT‘s FA08 with help from others including Ulrich Schwahn, a Plant Manager at a Bodycote facility in Germany. While the regulations published within the booklet are most applicable to the German heat treat market, all of the individuals involved have heat treating experience accumulated from around the world with the result that their conclusions would apply to heat treating anywhere in the world.

“Ulrich Schwahn; As you know safety in the heat treatment industry is very important to me which is why I was so pleased to have the opportunity, together with an excellent group of experts, to co-author a German booklet covering the combined knowledge. Since we felt that this specific information is not widely available in writing, combined with a perceived loss of know-how in heat treat operations, we were able to convince the DGUV to produce an English translation as well. Please find with this link the English version of the DGUV Rule, 109-605e. DGUV Rules are drawn up by experts at the German Social Accident Insurance, OSH- and industry professionals.

This one is specifically geared towards heat treat shops, offering practical advice to a wide range of safety related topics. https://publikationen.dguv.de/regelwerk/dguv-regeln/3866/metals-heat-treatment-sector Many references made in this document are pointing to German rules and regulations. Basis for these of course are underlying European laws. Having worked in the US and visited heat treat operations in China and other European countries as well, I feel – while these regulations are not necessarily binding for non-European countries – the hazards and best practices described can offer practical support in safety related questions for heat treat operations globally.”

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