New Safety Requirements for Granulators, Strand Pelletizers and Dicers

The Machinery Safety Standards Committee of the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) has released a new American National Standards Institute-accredited safety standard: ANSI/Plastics B151.11 Safety Requirements for Granulators, Strand Pelletizers and Dicers Used for Size Reduction of Plastics. It is available for sale at a reduced price for PLASTICS members at the PLASTICS web store.

The new document sets the latest industry standards for the manufacture, care and use of granulators, strand pelletizers, dicers and single-shaft rotary grinders. This standard does not apply to other types of shredders or to pulverizers.  Said PLASTICS’s president and CEO Tony Radoszewski ,“This document provides important information, vital to the safety of people working on or near some very powerful machinery, and the standards for keeping these machines in top condition are essential to the future of plastic production and recycling.”

These safety requirements are the result of a three-year collaboration among members of the PLASTICS Machinery Safety Standards Committee, representing expertise from all corners of the plastics industry. Created as an update and expansion of a 2004 standard, Safety Requirements for Granulators, Strand Pelletizers and Dicers Used for Size Reduction of Plastics, this document expands the scope of the previous standard while also updating normative and informative references, as well as definitions for clarity and unity with the new standard.

Jason Forgash, president of Bay Plastics Machinery and David Miller, general manager for Size Reduction at Conair, co-chaired the team that produced the standard. Said Forgash, “Working with a team of outstanding individuals from across our industry on this standard was a great experience. Our goal was to update a standard that had not been reviewed for too long, and to ensure that our segment of the industry is meeting the most current safety requirements available.”

Conair’s Miller further emphasized the depth of the work that went into the new standard. “This process included representatives from many size-reduction companies that represent all of the equipment detailed in this very important safety document.”

Summed up Jennifer Jones, PLASTICS’ director of industry standards, “Collaboration was key for the members of this drafting group. This equipment is used in wide-ranging applications that vary in configurations. This group was able to apply knowledge of multiple systems to be sure the standard addresses the complexity of safety considerations presented by a multifaceted industry.”