Click to go back to the homepage
AMPC MLA
Content Start.

Background

Introduction

Band saws are used extensively within the meat and wood industries, but unfortunately are a major contributor to serious injuries, including amputations.  Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), in a drive to improve operator safety within the meat industry, has been supporting a new technology for a band saw safety stopping system, named Bladestop™.  Machinery Automation and Robotics (MAR) has been carrying out the development of this technology and has tested a prototype system in a meat processing plant in NSW.

For the fresh meat industry it is generally considered not practicable to reduce all bandsaw hazards by means that distance the operator from the blade such as moving tables, conveyors, magazines, robots etc.  This is due to the variety of products a given bandsaw may need to handle, variations within a given product, potentially slower production cycle times and capital costs.  The dexterity of the human hand is still required for much of the bandsaw work in the meat industry. 

The Bladestop™ design aims to detect when an operator is in contact with the blade then stop the blade quickly. It does this by clamping the blade above the throat of the machine and removing drive tension on the blade so that the clamping system only needs to stop the momentum of an un-driven blade and not the drive wheels.  It is important to understand:

  • Bladestop™ does not eliminate hazards associated with operating bandsaws. 
  • Bladestop™ is considered an operator ‘aid'; it is not a failsafe safety system.
  • Bladestop™ is intended to reduce the severity of injuries; not eliminate injuries.
  • Bladestop™ is designed to operate after an injury has commenced.  It requires an operator's skin to be in contact with the blade before it can trigger to stop the blade; it is assumed that in general this will mean an operator is being cut before the system is triggered.
  • The degree of protection achieved is related to operator speed of movement towards the blade. 

There is definite need for a product like Bladestop™ in the fresh meat industry.

Market

There may be approximately 1000 bandsaws in use in Australian meat works and butcher shops (MLA).  It is not known how many of these are fitted with hazard reduction devices.  Anecdotal evidence suggests there may be 6 to 10 serious accidents per year in Australia and that New Zealand may have a comparable injury rate with many being wrist amputations. Some saws will be used much more than others and there will be a ratio of butcher saws to meat plants. A butcher saw may do 2 hours per day whereas a meat plant with 10 saws may do 10 saws x 15hrs = 150 hours per day.  Injury data is required to understand the type and degree of injuries and in what sector of the industry they occur. 

Bladestop™ development

The general Bladestop™ concept and design has been arrived at as a result of significant investigation by MAR into the current state of knowledge in bandsaw safety and the manufacture and testing of a range of concepts to reduce the hazards associated with bandsaws.  A U.S. company called SawStop developed fast blade stopping systems for both circular saws and bandsaws for use with timber.  However, the bandsaw device is not currently available for purchase.  

Investigations have not found any other commercial solutions suitable for the use of bandsaws in the fresh meat industry in situations where operators need to work close to the blade.