Belt conveyor training: changing behaviors, reducing risk, improving the bottom line

Belt conveyors are basically a thick rubber band, stretched at high tension and threaded through a thicket of rolling components, moving at high speed, carrying literally tons of unconfined material from where the cargo is thrown on the belt to the point where it is pitched off the belt. Accordingly, belt conveyors contain a variety of safety hazards. But because conveyors are an "everyday" fact of life in a cement plant, the hazards often go unrecognized, and personnel who must work on and around the conveyors go untrained. This presentation will look at the benefits of employee training to improve conveyor safety for those who work on or around belt conveyors, and for those or who manage the performance of belt conveyor systems. It will look at the fundamentals of adult educationsmall group, interactive, hands-on education--and how these principles can be applied to improve the worker training program covering belt conveyor operations, maintenance, and safety. The presentation will discuss conveyor training programs conducted recently at cement plants, detailing both how the training was supplied, and the lessons learned--by attendees and by plant management.