Shadow Boards and FOD Control
In a large number of industries FOD (Foreign Object Debris) is a significant cause of damage in many workplace situations and when those damages occur in the aerospace, aviation, or nuclear industries they can result in major catastrophes and death. Foreign debris such as maintenance tools, loose hardware, and other items can short electrical connections, restrict the movement of built-in safety devices or even just cause someone to trip and fall.
Because of this, it is a high priority that all FOD is controlled and are assigned and accounted for within the work environment. One excellent way to control the use of FOD is by using Shadow Boards.
A Shadow Board is a visual method of managing tools or storing items by establishing a designated location for every tool, piece of equipment, or hardware items required to perform a task or that are used frequently during the day.
Shadow Boards can be constructed in many ways. A popular type of Shadow Board is a section of pegboard with the outline of each item that is stored on the board. For maintenance technicians, foam Shadow Boards can be built into tool boxes or tool drawers where the shapes of the tools are cut into the foam. Shadow Boards can also be used for assembly kits on production lines or for dies or other items used on production equipment
Shadow Boards can be highly customized and designed in various ways to account for any specialized or unique tools or special layouts that are required for certain processes. Items on Shadow Boards can also be color-coded to create a more visual appearance and organize certain tool types or production assembly items together
Benefits of Shadow Boards
Shadow Boards can have a positive effect and create a number of benefits to control FOD for an organization such as:
Shadow Boards are an excellent way of keeping workstations or tool boxes organized and tidy. Having a specific location for an item will make the item easier to find when it is needed and also make it easy to identify if the item is misplaced or missing. A Shadow Board can help to organize a work area and free up workspace that can be utilized more efficiently.
Shadow Boards help to store tools properly and protect them from damage so that the tools will not need to be replaced as often. Foam Shadow Boards in tool boxes separate the tools when they are stored to keep them from becoming broken instead of just randomly throwing tools on top of each other.
Organized workplaces lead to higher productivity and efficiency and can optimize the work processes by reducing wasted movements that are unnecessary and that provide no added value. Clean and organized workplaces have been shown to increase employee morale and reduce workplace accidents
Shadow Board Design Process
currently has the capabilities to produce many types of custom Shadow Boards for your organization. We can produce identical Shadow Boards for production lines or unique Shadow Boards for special workplace situations or individual employee tool drawers.
Shadow Boards can be made from several different types of extremely durable foam materials and we can assist you to choose the correct materials for your application. Most Shadow Boards can last for over 10 years depending on use.
The design of a Shadow Board is a simple 2-step process. First, the tools or items are laid out in the proper arrangement and an image is taken of the layout. can provide guidance on how to layout the items in the best manner to be efficient and functional.
The image is then loaded into special design software. Within the software, can customize each Shadow Board by changing sizes, adding color-coding, custom logos or text for tool identification.
The Shadow Board will then be produced and delivered to begin to take advantage of the many benefits of using Shadow Boards to control the FOD within the workplace.
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If you are interested in learning more about Shadow Boards and how e2b Calibration can assist you in developing Shadow Boards that can benefit your workplace, contact e2b Calibration for more information.