It is important to protect your employees when they operate in hazardous conditions. This means providing them with protective equipment that is ergonomic and easy to wear.
Blower-powered respiratory systems offer comprehensive protection, including options for breathing, head, eye, hearing and skin protection. What is more, they are not just designed with safety in mind, but are also aimed at delivering maximum comfort. Loose-fitting hoods dispense with the need to check seal fitments, plus they are suited for minor degrees of facial hair, which only enhances wearing comfort.
Using blower units and hoods comes with a whole string of benefits: they allow workers to wear their own prescription eyeglasses and people with a beard do not experience any inconvenience. In addition, you get to combine various pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as breathing protection, head and face protection, whilst eliminating the inhaler resistance that is usually experienced by workers when wearing face masks.
One popular misconception is that blower-powered respiratory systems are complicated. In actual fact, they consist of just three key components, which can be easily adapted and fitted with accessories to build the most efficient configuration in any work environment.
What is important is that all components of a blower unit need to be of the same brand because they are certified as a whole.
This blog article looks at the three main components of a blower unit and how to assemble this unit.
1. Hood and breathing air hose
Whether you are looking at durable hard hats from the M series, versatile hoods from the S series or the convenience of your existing tight-fitting 3M Face Masks: 3M™ Versaflo™ blower-powered respiratory systems deliver a broad range of combinations to meet specific needs and requirements. In deciding which kind of hood to go for, look at the risks involved in the job at hand: for more challenging working conditions, consider a hood with a hard hat, for light working conditions or highly polluting applications, go for a disposable hood.
2. Blower unit
The next step is to provide employees with filtered air. In arriving at your choice, consider whether you require protection from (dust) particles or gases/vapours and whether intrinsic safety (ATEX) or submersion during cleaning is required. The desired duration of operation may decide whether you need to go for a regular or a heavy duty battery.
3. Filter
Filters are an important element of your safety toolkit in protecting employees from (dust) particles and certain gases and vapours.
4. Accessories
In addition to the key components, there is a range of supplementary accessories such as radiation heat kits or hearing protection and communication kits, as well as protective foils and cleaning kits for adapted functions and maximum ease of use.
Assembling a blower unit
