Securing manufacturing mixers (Interlocks)

At the beginning of 2024, in the facilities of one of our clients, an incident occurred involving a manufacturing mixer (V-blender) located in the solid blending sector. An operator began loading the mixer while the discharge valve was still in the open position, leading to a powder spill.

Genipro was mandated with implementing a safety measure to eliminate the risk of spills during the operation of manufacturing mixers. Interlocks (engineering control devices) were designed and installed to manage the opening and closing of loading lids and operational valves on the mixers, eliminating the risk of human error. The previous interlock mechanism in the blending sector used trapped keys linked solely to the mixer lids: the key would lock into the open lid and release when the lid was closed. The released key then had to be placed in the control panel to allow system startup. The project involved modifying the trapped key mechanism to include a device controlling the operation valve's opening. Additionally, it ensured that the mixer could not start while the lids or discharge valve were still open. The cleaning valve was also impacted by this change and was considered as part of the project. All mixers in the sector were included in this safety initiative.

The main challenges were advancing the project amid employee turnover in human resources and managing changing delivery deadlines.