📘 CodingMarble Learn

Factory Safety, Maintenance and Environment

Maintenance keeps machines working and safe: small regular care is cheaper than a big breakdown. Workplace accidents come from unsafe machines, unsafe acts and poor conditions; guards, training, protective gear and clean rules prevent them. Factories also protect the environment by filtering smoke, saving energy and handling waste well.

🎬 Step-by-step story

  1. This is a factory floor with a machine at work. The red patch around it is the danger zone.
  2. Maintenance: the care bar shows how well the machine is looked after. When oiling and checks are skipped, the bar falls and the machine gets worn.
  3. Now a worker steps into the danger zone while the machine runs. This is how many accidents begin.
  4. We add a guard around the machine and the worker wears a helmet. Now the risk is much lower.
  5. The chimney sends out dark smoke. A filter on the chimney cleans it, so less smoke reaches the air.
  6. Your turn. Switch the guard and filter, and change the care level. Watch the risk and the smoke.

Tip: drag the 3D scene to turn it. Use two fingers to zoom.

🤔 Common doubts, cleared

Why is there a red patch around the machine?

It marks the danger zone where moving parts can hurt a person.

What happens when we skip maintenance?

The care bar falls, parts wear out and the machine can fail suddenly.

Why is stepping into the danger zone risky?

Moving parts can catch hands, clothes or hair, and the worker has little time to react.

Does a guard remove all risk?

No, but it removes most of it. Gear, training and rules cut the rest.

What does the filter do to the smoke?

It traps most of the dirty particles, so the smoke going out is much thinner.

How can I get the risk to Low?

Turn on the guard, raise the care level and keep the helmet on in free play.

Maintenance and conservation

Maintenance means keeping machines in good working order. Preventive maintenance is planned care before anything breaks: cleaning, oiling, tightening and checking. Breakdown maintenance means fixing a machine only after it stops, which is usually costlier and more dangerous. Conservation means looking after machines, tools and energy so that they last longer and are not wasted. A good plan has a checklist, a log book and a trained person for each machine.

Workplace accidents and prevention

An accident is an unplanned event that can hurt people or damage things. Causes fall into three groups: unsafe machines (no guard, broken parts), unsafe acts (hurry, no gear, joking around) and unsafe conditions (wet floor, bad light, clutter).

Prevention uses several layers: guards and safety switches, protective gear (helmet, gloves, goggles, shoes, ear plugs), training, clear signs and rules, a tidy workplace and a first-aid kit with an emergency plan. After any accident, find the cause and fix it so it does not repeat.

Environmental conservation

Factories can pollute air, water and soil. Smoke, dirty water and waste harm people and nature. To protect the environment, factories filter smoke, treat waste water before letting it out, sort and recycle waste, save energy and reuse materials. The rule is: reduce, reuse, recycle. Many countries have laws and limits for factory pollution, and factories must follow them.

Try it

In the 3D, turn the guard on and off and watch the risk. Set care to 0 and then to 5. Then walk around your home or school and list 3 unsafe things (a loose wire, a wet floor) and how to fix each.

Key formulas and definitions

Worked examples

1. A machine has no guard and workers keep their hands near the blade. Which cause group is this? What fix?

Unsafe machine. Fix by fitting a guard or a safety switch, and train workers to keep hands away.

2. A factory oils its machines every month before any fault. Which type of maintenance?

Preventive maintenance, because it is planned care before a breakdown.

3. A paint booth sends dark fumes into the air. Name two ways to reduce this.

Fit a filter or scrubber on the exhaust, and use less harmful paint. Also keep the booth well sealed.

Common mistakes

Practice quiz

1. Preventive maintenance is done:
2. A wet slippery floor is an:
3. A machine guard is used to:
4. A filter on a chimney:
5. Reduce, reuse and recycle protect the:

Practice: answer these yourself

Type or choose your answer, then press Check. Use a hint if you are stuck; the full solution appears after you answer.

Frequently asked questions

What is preventive maintenance?

It is planned care such as cleaning, oiling and checking, done before the machine breaks.

What are the main causes of workplace accidents?

Unsafe machines, unsafe acts by people and unsafe conditions in the workplace.

How can a factory protect the environment?

By filtering smoke, treating waste water, recycling waste and saving energy.

Where this is taught

Japan高校（専門学科）1〜3年Industrial Management Technology

Learn first

Related lessons

All Business Studies lessons