Maintenance

With the correct hoods, usage, and testing comes the need for proper maintenance of the hoods. This includes period inspections to insure functioning sashes, exhaust blowers and exhaust alarms. Simple preventative items such as exhaust blower belt replacement can become a safety nightmare if they are overlooked. As with testing, a regular program should be documented and in place to insure that all hoods are operating and not malfunctioning. Coordinating preventative maintenance with the hood testing can allow for roof adjustments of exhaust blowers to insure proper hood airflows and sash height combinations.

Fume hoods are devices that require attention from the selection and usage process to the regular testing and maintenance procedures. A fume hood management program contains these elements and is placed under the control of the right people. The dividend yielded is maximization of worker safety and minimization of an exposure incident’s likelihood.