Visibility

Visibility in an FME program has many implications. When an object is lost, visibility reduces location and retrieval time. It also provides assurance that if an object breaks, the resulting pieces will be easy to find. In nuclear operations, materials that would normally be clear or camouflaged are tinted and made to appear obvious or fluorescent. Materials that are going to be used in out of sight areas are flagged with bright, location signifying flags.

It is important that industries outside of the nuclear world follow these same visibility enhancing guidelines. While small bits of plastic or glass may not present a hazard to aircraft on the airfield they can certainly be a hazard if they are left in a system during construction.

In overhead work, peripheral vision can be the difference between a near-miss and a catastrophe (both on the ground and walking aloft). Falling objects are easier to dodge if they are easier to see – although still not very fun. Loose objects lying around the scaffold floor (although there should be none) are less likely to be accidentally kicked off by passing workers.

Color coding is also a way that visibility is increased. If everything that is used for a job is colored orange, then when that job is completed a worker will know that if it’s orange it probably should be removed. The frequent occurrence of a uniform bright color will remind workers that the job they are doing is expected to remain foreign material free.

The remove before flight covers and flags that are used to protect aircraft parts on the ground are very similar to those used in nuclear facilities. They are typically bright red with white letters to ensure that they are not missed by pilots during the preflight and don’t become foreign materials themselves.

So to summarize, use bright colors, avoid clear or dull colors whenever possible, try to stick to a color scheme, and identify the location of things that may be out of sight.