RIGHT CHOICE OF CAGE: Choose a safety cage that's right for the job. Three-to five-bar cages are ideal for small spaces. Five-bar cages offer versatility for inflating a variety of tires, including logging, forklift and ATV.
STICKER ON CAGE: All safety cage manufacturers affix
the OSHA Safety Instructions sticker to the cage.
If the OSHA sticker is worn or otherwise unreadable, call the manufacturer. They will gladly send you a replacement.
FIT TIRES IN CAGE: Measure the height and width of the biggest tire you'll ever need to inflate and use it as a basis for selecting the size of the tire cage.
If your fleet uses wide base singles, make sure these tires will fit in the cage.
INSPECT CAGE: Each day, inspect the bars to ensure there are
no cracks or pitting from corrosion. If there is any sign of damage, discard the cage.
CAGE FLOOR: The bottom is strong, yet flexible. It's designed to bend or deform to absorb stress.
Always use a clip-on chuck, remote valve or
air chuck that attaches itself. Never hold the
air hose onto the stem when inflating.
The air hose should be long enough to allow you to stand well beyond the trajectory zone.
California is the only state that mandates the hose must be a minimum of two feet.
If you can go longer, do it. Be mindful of open tool boxes,
windows or other objects that could be hit with debris,
and in turn, spray you with shrapnel. |
Let's examine why you use a tire cage in the first place.
In an earlier issue, Real Answers magazine discussed the amount of energy stored in a tire – and compared it to TNT: An ordinary 11R22.5 radial tire inflated at 100 psi contains almost 72,000 foot-pounds of bottled-up energy.
What could happen with that kind of energy? If you weigh 180 lbs and were standing nearby, the force of the tire could easily propel you nearly 200 feet in the air. If a tire exploded inside a shop, without the protection of a tire cage, and the ceiling was at 24 feet, well, you can do the math.
Kevin Rohlwing knows all too well about the energy stored in tires. Kevin is senior Vice President of Training for the
Tire Industry Association (TIA). Not only does he help craft procedures that are carried out in tire and fleet shops across the country, he also trains tire technicians and, unfortunately investigates too many accidents.
Bridgestone recommends using a safety cage and clip-on extension house when inflating a newly mounted tire. In fact, it's imprinted on the sidewall of every single Bridgestone we produce.
Kevin, what kind of energy is released from a tire/rim assembly?
"There's a really old video on the Ken-Tool® Web site
(kentool.com) you should see. It uses a bowling ball to
illustrate the distance a standard tire can toss when it
explodes. For instance, a standard 11R22.5 tire inflated to
100 psi has the force to hurtle a bowling ball 3/4 of a mile.
"They used a bowling ball because it's the approximate size of a human head. It was used to scare people, as it should.
"Decades ago, split rim wheel assemblies were common. And anybody with some time under their belt can tell you
a few horror stories. And those stories were usually enough to gain the respect of new hires."
What about now?
"Today's wheels are much safer, but it's still extremely
dangerous work. Improper training of service technicians puts lives at risk. Too many new techs are trained by
old timers who use the wrong methods – such as sitting on the tires when they're being inflated or using a can of ether
to seat a bead.
"I hear the same excuse over and over: 'We've never
had a problem before.' I tell them they've been lucky so far."
So should safety cages be bolted to the floor?
"Absolutely not. No safety cage should ever be secured to the floor. An exploding tire is unpredictable. The safety cage could spin. It could jump around. It could fall over. I've seen them turn 360s twice around."
Doesn't that prove a cage should be bolted to the floor?
"If that were true, safety cages would be manufactured
with holes.
"If the cage was bolted to the floor, the force from
the explosion could tear off the bolts. Now you have four pieces of lethal shrapnel to worry about."
Any advice for fleet owners who outsource tire service?
"If you're a fleet owner and a tire technician comes into
your yard to perform tire and wheel service, and he doesn't use a tire cage – throw him off your property. Immediately. No fleet needs to be burdened with an accident like this, nor do you want the attention of the police or OSHA.
"If you use tire technicians to service commercial tires, you must comply with OSHA procedures outlined in
29 CFT 1910.177 Servicing of Single-Piece and Multi-Piece Rim Wheels. You can download a PDF by visiting the
U.S. Department of Labor's Web site at www.osha.gov." |
