Optimization of the Production Process of Sealing Bricks in a Ceramic Factory in Urucurituba City in Amazonas – Brazil

In recent years there has been a high growth in Brazil, in the construction industry this event reflects a great economic development in the regions of the country, in the Amazon, the ceramic brick industry has been gradually increasing to meet this demand, especially in the interior of the state. In them there are failures and waste during its manufacturing process that greatly affects the final product. This article aims to employ the quality tools in the production process of a ceramic pottery that is located in the city of Urucurituba - AM, through them to discover the flaws and propose improvements in the production process of sealing bricks so that there is no problems in the final product. Through site visits data were collected through interviews with employees and the plant manager, the visit also allowed the mapping of the process of manufacturing eight-hole bricks, from this verification it was possible to apply the flowchart that allowed describing Throughout the process flow, the Ishikawa Diagram was also applied, which made it possible to detect faults (cracks and cracks) and their root causes. These occur during the brick production process and used the 5W2H, which helped to organize the ideas. and make a proposal to solve the problems, and bring quality to the final product

The application of self-propagating hightemperature synthesis to obtain a protective-strengthening alumina-silica coatings

This article shows the possibility of using the method of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis to obtain protective and hardening coatings for the lining of various thermal installations. The development of compositions of ceramic masses for the production of SHS coatings was carried out on the basis of aluminum powder, clay raw materials, exhausting and fluxing components as well as mineralizing additives. The prepared suspension including pre-prepared and thoroughly mixed raw materials was applied with a brush or a spray gun onto the previously cleaned and moistened surface of an aluminosilicate refractory. The firing of the coating was carried out in accordance with the mode of removing the thermal unit at the operating temperature. The temperature of the initiation of the SHS process, previously established using differential thermal analysis, was in the range of 570–720 °C and depended on the chemical composition of the charge. It has been established that the presence of crystalline phases of silica, corundum, hematite and a number of solid solutions (mainly calcium and sodium aluminosilicates) in the coating structure provides the necessary combination of the thermomechanical and thermophysical characteristics of the coatings. On the basis of the conducted research, the expediency of applying the technology of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis for the production of protective and hardening coatings on the lining of thermal units is demonstrated, which is confirmed by industrial tests in the conditions of the Minsk Ceramic Factory OJSC «Keramin».

Application of Cluster Analysis for Classification of Inhalation Exposure to Airborne Particles in a Tile and Ceramic Factory

Background: Particulate matter air pollution is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. By increasing the number of mineral industries in the two past decades, workers in these industries are exposed to pathogenic respirable particulate matter pollutants. Cluster analysis is a multivariate statistical analysis method. Clustering creates groups or classes that the difference between the sub-groups samples is less than the difference between the groups. Therefore, this study assigns the cluster analysis to air sampling data collected from the various units of a tile factory. Methods: In this observational study, sampling from the respiratory zone of 93 workers in a tile and ceramic factory for both respirable and inhalable particles were performed. Sampling of inhalable particle based on NIOSH_0500 protocol and respirable particles based on NIOSH_0600 was conducted. Data were analyzed by both R 3.2.2 software and hierarchical cluster analysis with Ward link. Results: 92.47% of Workers were exposed to respirable particles less than TLV and 39.8% of them were exposed to inhalable particles more than TLV. The maximum average exposure for respirable particles 13.04 mg/m3 and inhalable particles 84.88 mg/m3 is respectively reported for crusher unit. The lowest average exposures to respirable (0.41 mg/m3) and inhalable (min=1.74 mg/m3) particles were observed in the glaze line division. Conclusion: Since the workers are exposed to concentrations more than the threshold limit value of respirable particles, and especially inhalable particles in some units, appropriate control measures must be considered to prevent possible consequences

MEMORIES OF THE PRODUCTION OF AZULEJO AT THE CONSTÂNCIA CERAMIC FACTORY

This article discusses the craftsmanship involved in the tasks associated with the production/creation of azulejo. In this article the socio-technical memory of those who made them is therefore specially considered. The verbal testimonies of former workers of the Constância Factory – that was located in Lisbon and operated between 1836 and 2001 – are the empirical references that support the reflection throughout this article. This work dwells upon: (1) the interest in studying the azulejo production from the socio-technical perspective; (2) the activity of the Constância Factory regarding the production of azulejo; (3) and the learning, expertise and flexibility that the technical/creative processes and specialities involve.

Respiratory health problems among the ceramic workers in Dhaka

Ceramic factory workers are potentially at risk to develop occupational respiratory diseases due to chronic inhalation of dust particles generated in the ceramic factory. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out to assess the respiratory and other health problems among the workers of Mirpur Ceramic Works Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period of April to June, 2011. Among 200 participants, 132 (66%) were males and 68 (34%) were females. Less than one-third of the workers were habituated to use personal protective equipments (PPE), while more than two-third were not habituated. Nearly half (45.5%) of the workers were suffering from at least one respiratory problem and of them 86.8% (P = 0.001) had problems after joining the factory. Of the respiratory sufferers 27% had chronic bronchitis, 20% bronchial asthma, 1% pulmonary tuberculosis, and 0.5% had silicosis. A significant numbers (60.5%) of workers were suffering from other health problems along with or without respiratory problems, in terms of musculoskeletal pain, back pain, headache, dermatitis, anaemia and fever. The prevalence of respiratory problems was significantly higher among non-users of PPE than PPE users (P = 0.006), and it was found to be higher with the increased of job duration. The study showed the notable higher prevalence of respiratory problems among the workers exposed to ceramic dust, although the other potential environmental confounding factors could not be ruled out in the analysis. Obligatory use of PPE by all workers and health education to increase awareness among the workers might have role to reduce the prevalence.Faridpur Med. Coll. J. 2014;9(1): 19-23