Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
In.a.similar.manner,.the.level.of.skill.and.interaction.of.the.worker.with.the.prod-
uct.has.undergone.cyclic.changes..Prior.to.the.Industrial.Revolution,.manufacturing.
essentially. consisted. of. individual. hand. work. performed. by. skilled. laborers.. The.
development.of.mass.production.in.the.early.1900s.led.to.a.rise.in.unskilled.labor,.
as.manufacturing.equipment. developments. and.scientiic.management. taken. to.an.
extreme.reduced.the.worker.to.simply.another.component.or.“cog”.in.the.assembly.
line..The.subdivision.of.labor.to.simple.motions.repeated.over.and.over.again.was.
promoted.by.Frederick.Winslow.Taylor.[1]..Variations.on.the.scientiic.management.
theme. with. a. greater. emphasis. on. worker. welfare. and. mass. production. of. prod-
ucts.affordable.by.the.general.public.were.studied.by.Frank.and.Lillian.Gilbreth.[1].
and.Henry.Ford,.respectively..Worker.conditions.and.the.hazards.of.extreme.indus-
trial.eficiency.was.a.theme.of.Charlie.Chaplin's.movie.
Modern Times
.(1936)..With.
new.advances.in.automated.equipment.and.computer.control,.however,.the.degree.
of.repetitive.assembly. and. inspection. has.decreased,.and. there.has.been. a.shift. to.
skilled.(albeit.not.in.hand.work).workers.familiar.with.computers.and.an.increase.in.
the.need.for.more.technically.knowledgeable.workers.
A.growing.concern.in.more.recent.times.is.the.exposure.of.workers.to.poten-
tially. hazardous. environments. —. ranging. from. the. obvious. hazards. of. large.
mechanical. and. electrical. equipment. (e.g.,. crushing,. falls,. electrocution),. to. the.
less. visible. dangers. of. exposure. to. chemicals. and. airborne. particles. (e.g.,. coal.
dust)..Improved.safety.protocols,.safety.lock-out.systems.and.guards,.and.personal.
protective. equipment. (e.g.,. gloves,. masks,. ventilation). have. been. developed. to.
address.work.environment.hazards..Nevertheless,.with.the.emergence.of.each.new.
technology. comes. the. potential. for. new,. unknown. hazards.. Some. hazards. arise.
from.the.materials.themselves,.as.in.the.case.of.asbestos.ibers.and.lead..Others.
arise.from.the.manufacturing.process,.as.in.the.increase.of.carpal.tunnel.and.other.
repetitive.motion.injuries..To.mitigate.the.potential.harm,.the.scientiic.community.
must.attempt.to.address.potential.hazards.prior.to.or.in.parallel.with.new.technol-
ogy.development..One.approach.to.doing.so.for.manufacturing.processes.is.to.irst.
identify. what. changes. are. anticipated. in. the. manufacturing. environment. due. to.
the.emerging.technology,.and.then.address.any.subsequent.consequences..As.was.
illustrated.previously,.however,.projecting.forward.is.not.simply.a.linear.extension.
of.observations.of.the.past..For.example,.it.is.unlikely.that.preventing.inhalation.
of.nanoparticles.will.be.solved.solely.by.creating.masks.with.smaller.pores..Thus,.
the.next.section.provides.a.brief.introduction.to.existing.manufacturing.processes,.
followed.in.the.ensuing.section.by.a.discussion.of.how.these.processes.are.likely.
to.change.with.the.increased.use.of.nanomaterials.
. a bRieF PRiMeR on ManuFaCtuRing PRoCesses
While.there.are.many.different.major.processes,.each.with.many.variations,.manu-
facturing.processes.can.be.loosely.grouped.into.the.following.ive.families.[2]:
