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Candidate Support Pack - Scottish Qualifications Authority

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2.18<br />

Water<br />

You should always check for water leaks at your work area in the laundry. You (or other<br />

employees) could slip on water from a leak and injure yourself, or be burned by water from<br />

an overhead leak. If you discover a leak it must be cleaned immediately, and the<br />

appropriate warning signs put in place to warn others of the hazard. If this spillage is not<br />

treated it can also damage the linen in the laundry — for example, it can cause mildew on<br />

the finished items in the packing area.<br />

Activity 8<br />

Think of what could happen as a result of a water leak.<br />

1 What risks do pools of water on the laundry floor pose to laundry staff?<br />

2 What are the dangers of hot water dripping from an overhead pipe?<br />

3 How can linen be damaged as a result of being allowed to become damp in<br />

storage?<br />

Compressed air<br />

GC8N 22 — Laundry Operations Level 2<br />

Answer sheets p. 2.59<br />

Compressed air is used in the laundry to operate a wide range of equipment from sheet<br />

feeders and ironer folders to presses and washing machine valves. It is supplied at high<br />

pressure from a central generating point and piped around the factory as required.<br />

Compressed air cannot be seen — but leaks can often be heard as a loud 'hiss'.<br />

It is frequently supplied around the factory in rigid metal lines, but the final connection to<br />

the machinery is often via a plastic (or similar) flexible hose.<br />

The major danger from compressed air — which is often at high pressure — is when<br />

these flexible lines become damaged or break through normal fair wear and tear. The<br />

escaping air under pressure causes the flexible air line to rapidly flick around which can<br />

cause serious injury if the end of the air line hits anyone nearby.<br />

If air leaks are heard or an air line fractures or breaks (often accompanied by a bang and<br />

a loud hissing) the equipment should be turned-off immediately, if possible, the air line<br />

control valve closed and the fault reported to your supervisor.<br />

Flexible air lines are often used in the laundry to blow lint and dust off machinery or from<br />

the inaccessible areas in, around and underneath machinery and at higher levels, eg roof<br />

beams.<br />

Serious injuries can occur if people 'play' with these air lines and do not take the correct<br />

precautions by always ensuring the end of the hose is pointed away from other people in<br />

the area or by wearing a breathing/face mask to prevent inhalation of large quantities of<br />

lint and dust.

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