Braude – Occupational Safety in Welding within Mechanical Engineering
The book *Occupational Safety in Welding* by Braude provides a sanitary and hygienic assessment of welding processes and outlines safety and industrial hygiene requirements for the organization of technological workflows and the equipping of welding workshops. It covers electrical safety and ventilation, and describes personal protective equipment—widely used in automatic and semi-automatic submerged-arc and gas-shielded welding, as well as in manual and resistance welding. The book also addresses occupational safety requirements for modern, advanced welding methods.
Braude – Occupational Safety in Welding within Mechanical Engineering is intended for engineering and technical personnel in machine-building enterprises, as well as for technical inspectors from trade unions and sanitary oversight authorities.
Electric welding, surfacing, and thermal cutting of metals are widely employed not only in machine building but across various other industrial sectors. The volume of welding operations in our country is steadily increasing. Welding technology is continuously evolving and improving; new mechanized and automated processes—such as plasma, electron-beam, laser, diffusion, ultrasonic, and high-frequency welding, as well as welding in controlled-atmosphere chambers—are being introduced into production. At the same time, manual and semi-automatic electric arc welding remain in widespread use, valued for their flexibility and versatility.
While offering significant technical and economic advantages, electric welding also carries certain risks: workers may be exposed to electric shocks, burns from molten metal spatter, and temporary blindness caused by the intense light emitted by the welding arc. Furthermore, during the electric welding, surfacing, and cutting of metals and alloys, the air in industrial premises becomes contaminated with dust (welding aerosol) consisting of oxides of iron, manganese, and chromium, silicon dioxide, and other toxic substances present in the materials being welded or the welding consumables themselves. In the absence of adequate occupational health and safety measures, regular exposure to welding aerosol can lead to occupational lung diseases and disorders of the central nervous system among workers in assembly and welding shops. Additionally, radiation from the welding arc can cause eye conditions (electro-ophthalmia), and workers in these areas are also exposed to various gases and noise.
Occupational health and safety in assembly and welding shops is a critical, multifaceted issue. The most effective way to improve working conditions is to refine welding production technology—for instance, by using welding consumables with minimal toxic content and by more widely implementing mechanized or automated welding processes.
The development of any effective occupational health and safety measures for electric welders must be based on an analysis of the “welder (operator) — welding equipment — welding process — environment” system, which is a specific application of the “human-machine” system studied in the field of ergonomics. The various physical phenomena associated with the welding process necessitate a comprehensive range of preventive and protective measures—encompassing technological, sanitary-technical, personal protective, and medical-preventive interventions. Developing these measures requires the collaborative effort of professionals from diverse fields, including welding technologists and equipment designers, experts in electrical safety and industrial ventilation, occupational health specialists, and developers of personal protective equipment. Ensuring high-quality welded joints and high labor productivity must go hand in hand with minimizing worker fatigue and safeguarding the health of the workforce.
For over four decades in our country, research institutes focused on occupational safety and hygiene—working in close cooperation with technical organizations and manufacturing plants—have been developing effective methods and tools to improve working conditions in electric welding operations. These extensive scientific efforts have led not only to the creation of specific protective devices and specialized work clothing, but also to the establishment of regulatory standards. These standards outline requirements for the design, manufacture, installation, and operation of welding equipment, production facilities, ventilation systems, protective gear, and specialized apparel.
In their book *Occupational Safety in Welding*, the authors—Braude et al.—sought not only to provide an overview of the key approaches and developments in this field, but also to examine the reasons why certain devices may lack sufficient effectiveness. Furthermore, they introduce the reader to a scientifically grounded methodology for developing such solutions, taking into account the specific technological, spatial, and operational conditions of the production environment.
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