Companies and their working teams are part of a production cycle whose efficiency can be improved by investing in projects that, in addition to raising the performance and quality of the product, also take care of the workers and their well-being.
Gemata has always been a company characterized by a strong inclination for environmental sustainability and social responsibility, not only towards its employees but also towards the workers of the client and partner organizations: these values are passed down to the development of new machinery aiming to protect either the health of end users and get at the same time high performance results.
Every work environment has risk factors that must be managed and monitored through safety and hygiene regulations in the workplace, whether they are offices, workshops or construction sites: operators must be protected by adopting and correctly using clothing and safety devices, greater attention to safe working procedures, constant training over time and, above all, use of ergonomic and safe machinery.
The splitting machine STARSPLIT meets these standards: for this project Gemata analyzed the working conditions in the tannery, identified the main critical issues related to the use of a machine of this type and developed a series of ergonomics solutions able to guarantee greater safety conditions for the operator and improve productivity levels.
STARSPLIT is suitable for processing cowhides, sheep, goat and pig skins in wet blue, lime, pickle and dry, with a working width from 1600 to 3600: its structure guarantees high splitting precision but, above all, optimal working conditions for operators thanks to the design and implementation of the feeding device.
The use of the feedinge device is an advantageous innovation because:
− it guarantees the total safety of the operators because the feeding device takes their hands away from the dangerous area of the blade;
− it prevents and solves the musculo-skeletal problems that can occur due to the repetitive lifting of the leathers, which weigh between 20 and 30 kg;
− it increases the productivity and quantity of hides processed, compared to the classic hand process, because it eliminates the difficult operation of introducing, guiding and braking the leather by the operators during the passage of the leather between the transport rollers in the traditional splitting system;
− it eliminates the need for specialized workers in hand splitting because the process is automated;
− it increases the precision on the thickness of the leather since it is pressed and accompanied directly on the transport roller.
Another important feature that make the machine safe are the blade guides that protect the operator automatically and instantly by covering the cutting blade during the opening phase. The design solution adopted keeps the blade stationary in the working position, although covered by the blade guides, during the cleaning, maintenance and adjustment operations. In this way the blade does not undergo any movement which could reduce the splitting quality or cause premature wear of the blade due to the need to re-thread it every time the machine is closed.
All these improvements make the STARSPLIT splitting machine a model capable of increasing well-being and productivity in the tannery: indeed, it eliminates risk factors (and, consequently, their management and monitoring), improves the general conditions of operators’ work and, finally, its adoption demonstrates the will of the tannery to consciously manage the safe working procedures in its production cycle.
