Van-loading tool checks: 6 items before dispatch

• a yes-or-no answer on whether each electric power tool is double-insulated or grounded.
• a lift plan that uses no electric cord for any tool being hoisted or lowered.
• a clip check on each pneumatic impact tool, recorded as installed and maintained.
• for nailers and staplers with automatic fastener feed, a muzzle device check, plus a nozzle and valve check before air cleaning above 30 p.s.i.
• a cylinder question for the tech that points to the pressure testing section and the acetylene procedures.

The dispatch step is the last point where a tool list is read before a technician drives to a job. A question answered in the yard can be settled while the tool, cord, nozzle or cylinder is still in reach. Putting these checks on the van-loading list means each answer is written down before the tool reaches the job site.

Each rule below is tied to the publisher and page that states it. The Washington and California texts are the two rule sets cited here, and the acetylene line comes from a separate publisher, Health and Safety Executive. None of these texts should be read as the rule for other places, so a dispatcher sending a van elsewhere should check the rules that apply at that location.

The table gives one quoted line from each publisher used in this article.

Each line is one sentence from its section, so the wording around it still matters when a tech reads the full page.

The Washington rule for electric tools reads that electric power operated tools must either be of the approved double-insulated type or grounded in accordance with Part I of this chapter, according to Washington State Legislature.

The rule names two acceptable routes, so the load sheet should ask which route applies to each electric tool rather than assume one. A single entry for the whole fleet would hide the difference between the two. Write the route beside each tool's name, so the sheet shows which of the two was checked.

A simple way to record the grounding question is to write one of two entries beside each tool, either double-insulated or grounded. An unanswered entry leaves the question open, so the tech can settle it before the tool goes out.

The rule on cords is a separate line. The use of electric cords for hoisting or lowering tools must not be permitted, according to Washington State Legislature.

The wording names hoisting and lowering, so the list should not stretch it to cover other ways of moving a tool. On the load sheet, mark any job where a tool will be raised or lowered, and note the lift method beside it. If the plan uses a cord for that lift, change the plan before the van leaves. Where a tool stays on the ground for the whole job, the lift question does not arise, so the sheet can mark that line not applicable.

On jobs where a tool goes up a ladder or into an overhead space, write the planned lift in more detail than the method name alone. That gives the tech and the dispatcher the same description of the lift before the van is loaded.

For grinding wheels, see Grinding wheel safety: 6 rules to check before dispatch.

Safety clips or retainers must be securely installed and maintained on pneumatic impact (percussion) tools to prevent attachments from being accidentally expelled, according to Washington State Legislature.

The wording asks for clips that are securely installed and maintained, so the load sheet should record whether each impact tool has its clip in place and in service. A clip sitting loose in the case is not the same as a clip that is installed. Give each impact tool its own line, so the clip answer stays attached to the tool it describes on the sheet. A clip that is missing or loose should be flagged on the sheet, so the team lead can decide before the van is loaded.

The Washington text states that concrete form, mill scale, and similar cleaning may be performed with air pressure exceeding 30 p.s.i. provided the nozzle and/or cleaning pipe is at least 3 feet long with a quick-closing (deadman) valve between the hose and the nozzle or pipe, according to Washington State Legislature.

The named cleaning jobs are concrete form, mill scale and similar cleaning. The load sheet should name the cleaning job beside each air nozzle rather than list the nozzle alone.

Before the tool leaves, measure the nozzle or cleaning pipe for length and confirm that a quick-closing valve sits between the hose and the nozzle or pipe. If a nozzle or cleaning pipe used above 30 p.s.i. is shorter than 3 feet, or has no quick-closing valve in that position, mark the tool as not cleared for that work.

The conditions in that wording apply to air pressure exceeding 30 p.s.i., so a nozzle entry on the sheet applies to work above that pressure.

All pneumatically driven nailers, staplers, and other similar equipment provided with automatic fastener feed, must have a safety device on the muzzle to prevent the tool from ejecting fasteners, unless the muzzle is in contact with the work surface, according to Washington State Legislature.

The text applies to equipment provided with automatic fastener feed, so the load sheet should note the feed type on each nailer or stapler before applying the device check. A tool without that feed should be recorded as outside the wording quoted above, rather than marked as checked against it.

The exception covers a muzzle that is in contact with the work surface. A van check does not show whether the muzzle will be in contact with the work surface, so the sheet should leave that judgement to the tech on site.

The same Washington text says the overall weight of the fastening device does not exceed the weight of standard 18 gauge wire, 1-1/2 inches long, according to Washington State Legislature. That is a limit stated in the rule, not a purchase spec, so the load sheet should not record it as one. If a team wants a weight figure for a fastener, that figure should come from the fastener's own product information, since the rule states a comparison and not a specification.

Where a nailer or stapler has no muzzle device, the sheet should flag it rather than send it out unchecked. For each nailer or stapler, write three separate entries on the sheet: the feed type, whether the muzzle device is in place, and a note that the contact exception is left to the tech. Keeping these apart means a missing device stays visible even when the tech expects to work with the muzzle against the surface.

The California text, according to California Department of Industrial Relations, states that pressure testing of any object shall be in accordance with Section 560(c) and (d) of the Unfired Pressure Vessel Safety Orders.

The text points to a section rather than giving test steps, so the load sheet should cite that section and not restate it. This article does not set out pressure test procedures beyond the cited section.

The same California page includes a note that points to further guidance on the utilization of compressed gases in cylinders in Group 9, and to Compressed Gas Association Pamphlet P-1-1965 for portable tanks, rail tank cars, or motor vehicle cargo tanks, according to California Department of Industrial Relations.

Because the note names portable tanks, rail tank cars and motor vehicle cargo tanks separately from cylinders, the load sheet should list each of those types in its own row. The Group 9 reference can sit in the sheet's source column, so the tech knows where the cylinder guidance is found.

The Fire and Rescue Services have specific procedures for dealing with cylinders containing acetylene, according to Health and Safety Executive.

This article does not list those procedures, so an acetylene cylinder on the van should be referred to them rather than handled from a summary here.

The cylinder line on the sheet should record the cylinder type and whether the acetylene procedures were passed to the tech. The California note and the acetylene line come from different publishers, so the sheet should cite each one by its own publisher name rather than merge them into a single cylinder rule. A cylinder entry without a source attached gives the tech no way to check the answer, so each entry should name the page it was checked against.

Imagine a dispatcher loading a van for one job with a double-insulated drill, a pneumatic impact tool and a nailer with automatic fastener feed. The drill is recorded as double-insulated, so its route is written beside its name. The impact tool's clip is marked as installed and in service. The nailer's muzzle device is marked as in place, and the tech decides on site whether the muzzle is in contact with the work surface. A lift that would use an electric cord is changed before the van leaves.

The log should record the tools that went out and the answer to each check beside them. A short row with the clip, muzzle device, nozzle length and cylinder question gives the next team lead a starting point at the start of the day.

Note which electric tools were double-insulated and which were grounded. That detail shows the next dispatcher which tools were checked against which route.

Any hoisting or lowering job where the lift method was changed away from an electric cord should be recorded, so the change is visible the next time the job is booked.

Any air nozzle whose length or valve was not confirmed before the van left belongs in the log, and so does any impact tool without a clip in place.

A team lead can read the log before the van is loaded the next day, which puts the open items in front of the person loading it. For the status words used on a work order, see Work order statuses: 6 words to check at dispatch. Keep the log in the same order as the load sheet, so a team lead can read each tool against its check without changing the sequence. When a tool comes back from a job, record the date and the checks that were repeated, so the next load starts from the most recent answer.

Next step: Add these six checks to your van-loading list for tomorrow's jobs.

Must power tools be grounded?

No. Washington's wording allows an electric power operated tool to be an approved double-insulated type or grounded in accordance with Part I of this chapter, according to Washington State Legislature. Grounding is one of two routes, so a double-insulated tool meets that wording without a ground connection. Because the text is a Washington rule, a van sent elsewhere should be checked against the rules that apply there.

Can an electric cord be used to lift a tool?

No. Washington's wording says electric cords may not be used for hoisting or lowering tools, according to Washington State Legislature. A lift plan for any tool that goes up or down should name a method other than an electric cord before the van is loaded.

What nozzle is needed for air cleaning above 30 p.s.i.?

According to Washington State Legislature, concrete form, mill scale, and similar cleaning may use air above 30 p.s.i. when the nozzle and/or cleaning pipe is at least 3 feet long, with a quick-closing (deadman) valve between the hose and the nozzle or pipe. The load sheet should name the cleaning job beside the nozzle entry.

Who has procedures for acetylene cylinders?

This article does not set out those procedures, so an acetylene question should go to the fire and rescue procedures named in that source.