Typical project scenario
Stone Fabrication Shop — Silica Dust Capture
Stone & countertop · Houston, TX
A Houston engineered-stone fabricator's quarterly silica air monitoring came back above the OSHA Action Level at the dry-cut station. HireAVac replaced their shop vacuum with a HEPA-certified Dirt Eater Protector tied directly into the saw shroud — next quarter's results were below the action level.
Challenge
Engineered quartz dust is 90%+ crystalline silica. The shop's existing pancake-style dust collector was rated for woodworking and was blinding within an hour of cutting. Operators were finishing each cut by stepping back into a visible dust cloud — and the air-sample numbers reflected it. A repeat over-exposure would have triggered OSHA enforcement action.
Solution
HireAVac sized a HEPA-certified industrial vacuum to the saw's 250-CFM shroud demand, with a high-capacity drum that handled a full production day without bag changes. We added a written daily-cleaning protocol for the dry-cut station and trained two operators on filter inspection. Air monitoring was repeated 60 days later by the shop's third-party industrial hygienist.
Results
- Silica TWA (before)
- 38 µg/m³ — above Action Level
- Silica TWA (after, 60 days)
- 18 µg/m³ — below Action Level
- Saw downtime for dust
- Effectively zero
- Filter life
- Full production day per filter cycle
Note: This is a typical project scenario, not a specific named customer. Verified customer case studies are labeled and only published with documented permission.
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