Safety in the workplace

Having the right workshop equipment is indispensable if you want to fabricate orthopaedic products and protect your employees against work-related illnesses and accidents.


Vapours

In orthopaedic workshops, some work processes produce harmful vapours. According to the Ordinance on Hazardous Substances (GefStoffV), customised workplaces must be fitted with an efficient, explosion-proof extraction system in order to protect the health and safety of the people who work there.

One innovative solution is the Ottobock suction booth. To protect the user against harmful vapours, it includes an air curtain that keeps vapours inside the booth until they are extracted. Suction slits in our lamination workstations extract vapours at source. Ventilators then channel the contaminated air out of the building. If the workshop layout does not allow for this method, or if it would require breaking through too many walls, the suction booth for vapours can be used in combination with the SAC 1600 active carbon filter (701Z130). This system purifies the air before returning it to the room as clean air.

Machines such as Ottobock’s 758Z131=1200 suction booth or 758Z132=* suction booth with sliding front panel offer you maximum protection against chemical vapours. In addition, Ottobock’s portfolio includes a 758Z116=* lamination workstation with integrated tank. This features extraction slits for continuously extracting any vapours that are released.

Dust

Dust is produced in the orthopaedic workshop during the milling and sanding of various materials, such as plastics, wood, fibreglass and carbon fibre materials. In terms of health risks, the size of the dust particles is crucial along with the pollutants they contain. Dust particles that are bigger than 10 μm in size (coarse particles) stick to our nasal hairs or the mucous membranes in our noses and throats. Dust particles that are smaller than 10 μm in size (fine dust, ultra-fine particles) can pass through our respiratory tract to the bronchial tubes and deep into our lungs. In order to protect employees, dust needs to be extracted efficiently and safely from the workplace.

Ottobock dust collectors are designed specifically for orthopaedic workshops and the orthopaedic footwear specialism, and set new benchmarks in their field. They are ideal not only for extracting traditional materials such as wood, but also for extracting modern materials such as plastics and composites (e.g., carbon). Ottobock dust collectors are known for their high-quality workmanship, long lifetime and extremely high rate of extraction. When developing the machines, Ottobock placed a strong focus on reducing noise pollution.

This sophisticated technology makes a huge improvement in the comfort of your workplace.

Example: V80 Compact Mini dust collector.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is all about keeping employees healthy by adapting the workplace to their individual needs. Medical, psychological, social and technological aspects are all taken into account when designing an ergonomic workplace. The aim is to create a healthy, motivational environment that enhances employee well-being.

Workplaces have to be designed carefully and correctly in order to avoid work-related accidents and illnesses. Ottobock’s top priority is the health of our customers. For more than 60 years, the team here at Ottobock has been helping you optimise all the technological, medical, social and psychological aspects of your workshop’s design.

We can help you create a safe, ergonomic workplace with height-adjustable chairs, desks and machines such as the 701F41 socket router or our height-adjustable 701L70=FSBP140 Flexam FSBP Executive milling machine from the Flexam Executive range.

Ergonomics also played an important role in shaping our innovative OrthoLean concept for more efficient orthopaedic workshops. We make sure each workstation has optimal lighting, and each work area can be adjusted to meet different height requirements and other individual needs of those who work there.

Example: OrthoLean