How do you determine which welding protection your workplace needs?
A welding screen, welding curtain, welding blanket or complete welding booth: the right type of shielding depends on what you need to protect, how the work is carried out and what happens around the welding area. For a short repair job, a single mobile screen may be enough. In a busier environment with several welders, large workpieces or frequent foot traffic, the layout of the entire workplace becomes more important. The first question is therefore not: which product do I need? But: which risks do I need to control in this workplace?
What exactly do you need to protect?
Not every type of welding protection serves the same purpose. A welding blanket, for example, is used to protect machines, floors or components locally against sparks and spatter. A welding screen is designed to shield the welding area from its surroundings and can help prevent employees at nearby workstations from having a direct view of the welding arc.
Imagine a technician carrying out a repair on a machine. The machine itself needs protection from spatter, while employees passing through the adjacent aisle should not have a direct view of the welding process. In that case, both a welding blanket and a welding screen may be needed, but each serves a different purpose.
That is an important principle: one product does not have to address every risk.
How is the welding area used every day?
The way people work largely determines which type of shielding is practical. For maintenance, repairs or work that frequently changes location, a mobile welding screen can be a good fit. You shield the area where the work is taking place and move the screen when the work moves. For a larger work area, a welding curtain may be more practical, especially when the shielding needs to be moved aside easily so that the opening can be fully cleared when required.
Welding strips work differently. Employees and materials can pass through them, after which the strips fall back into position and keep the opening largely closed.
If welding takes place in the same location every day, a welding booth may be a more logical starting point. This creates a defined work zone that can be adapted to the work being carried out, the size of the workpieces, access requirements and, for example, noise control.
The frequency of the work, movement within the area and the way the workplace is used ultimately determine which form of shielding fits best.
Look beyond the welder
A welding station may be well arranged for the welder while still leaving open sightlines for people nearby. A screen may be positioned correctly at the front, while someone approaching from the side still has a direct view of the welding process.
It therefore helps to literally walk around the workplace and look at:
sightlines from aisles and neighbouring workstations;
areas where employees or visitors pass;
the height and width of workpieces;
movements of forklifts, pallet trucks and materials;
openings that are regularly needed during the work;
extraction systems, machinery and other fixed elements in the workshop.
This is especially important with large workpieces. The welder may change position during the job, which also changes where shielding is required. A screen that is positioned correctly at the start may no longer provide the right coverage a few metres further on.
When does welding protection become a workplace layout issue?
For a simple welding station, it is often fairly straightforward to determine which product is needed. In larger production environments, however, several factors come together: fixed and temporary welding activities, different traffic routes, large workpieces, extraction systems and multiple people working in the same space.
At that point, the focus shifts from choosing one product to creating a safe and practical work zone.
A combination of fixed welding booths and mobile welding screens can make sense when most welding takes place at permanent stations, while maintenance work is regularly carried out elsewhere in the workshop. In another environment, welding curtains or strips may be more suitable for separating larger areas while maintaining flexibility.
With more than 30 years of experience in welding safety, Cepro therefore looks at the workplace first and the product second. Sometimes one correctly positioned welding screen is enough. In other situations, the workplace requires a combination of shielding, custom-made solutions or a fully arranged welding zone.
Unsure which type of welding protection suits your workplace? Cepro can help assess the work, sightlines and surrounding environment to determine an approach that is both practical and appropriate.
We’re happy to help! Let’s discuss the possibilities and find the solution that best fits your workplace. Choose safety with Cepro.
Talk to us