Industrial cleaning is critical to efficient plant operations, directly impacting the facility's efficiency and profit margins.
The mission of the WaterJet Technology Association (WJTA) is to advance safety and technology in this industry supporting better cleaning outcomes and safer, more efficient operations.
The association has taken an increasingly active role in many areas, from the development of new training and certification programs for hydroblasting and industrial vacuuming operators to frequent review of the WJTA best practices, new educational efforts and a scholarship program to support our industry.
Of particular interest to many industrial contractors and facilities are the recent updates to WJTA's "Industry Best Practices for the Use of High Pressure Waterjetting Equipment" (orange book) and "Recommended Practices for the Use of Industrial Vacuum Equipment" (blue book).
High-pressure waterjet cleaning can be one of the more hazardous services performed in industrial facilities, while also immediately affecting plant efficiency and production by working directly on process equipment.
After committee review, a new edition of WJTA's orange book was released in January 2021. Updates in the revised best practices include additional consideration for the use of automated or robotic systems, where applicable, and a provision for lower pressures where horsepower or flow rates present hazards. Other examples of changes include several important operational steps that have been clarified in the new best practices, such as the pull test - an important step in tube and pipe cleaning to ensure that the anti-withdrawal device will prevent the nozzle from exiting the pipe under pressure. Additionally, updates were made to the definitions section to promote more consistent terminology throughout industry.
Hazards in industrial vacuuming operations, like those in high-pressure waterjetting, have the potential to cause severe injuries or incidents. WJTA's blue book was also recently revised and published in a fourth edition in July 2021. Among the new recommendations is that operators carry a medical alert card for vacuum suction incidents. In the event of an injury, the suggested wording on the card would offer information to health care providers on the potential nature of the injury and treatment considerations.
The revised manual has added recommended hand signals for starting and shutting down the vacuum unit, like the hand signals recommended for waterjetting operators in WJTA's orange book. Additionally, an example procedure for entering the vacuum tank has been added, since vacuum tanks meet the OSHA definition of a confined space.
Other updates include several revisions to the best practice methods for loading and offloading flammable and combustible liquids, a brief treatment of automated/robotic vacuum tools and several new definitions added to the glossary.
Changes to the best practices are reflected in the WJTA training and certification curriculum for waterjetting and a vacuum training program that is in development and planned to launch in the first quarter of 2022. These programs allow updates to be quickly and consistently communicated to the workforce to support safe and effective cleaning operations.
For more information, visit www.wjta.org or call (314) 241-1445.
