Sometimes called a dough sheeter, a dough brake is used in bakeries to roll dough or pastry to sheets of consistent thickness.
While this guidance has not been updated to reflect current work health and safety legislation (the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and regulations), it may still contain relevant information and practices to keep workers and others healthy and safe.
Please read this guidance in conjunction with all relevant industry standards that apply to you as a PCBU. This guidance will be progressively reviewed and either updated, replaced with other guidance, or revoked.
Two horizontal steel rollers roll the dough or pastry between them, and then roll it again after the rotation is reversed. Between reversals, the distance between rollers is reduced to bring the dough or pastry to the required thickness.
Figure 1: Dough brake
Hazards
- Trapping between dough rollers
- Entanglement with turning parts
- Slips, trips & falls
- Entanglement from unexpected movement (during maintenance, cleaning & repairs)
Tasks
Task – Feed dough to machine/roll dough
Hazard
Trapping between dough rollers
Entanglement with turning parts
Harm
- Trapping between dough rollers
- Entanglement with turning parts
- Slips, trips & falls
- Entanglement from unexpected movement (during maintenance, cleaning & repairs)
Controls
- DO NOT wear loose clothing or jewellery.
- FIX guarding to prevent reach into moving parts:
- Static fixed guard
- Adjustable fixed guard P Automatic guard
- Prime movers and transmissions MUST be guarded.
- TEST SAFETY FEATURES at the start of each shift.
Some dough brakes have a smooth table rather than a belt conveyor, where operator’s hands will reach closer to the nip, and may become entangled while feeding dough or during cleaning.
A nip is measured from where rollers close within 19 mm. 19 mm is the distance where fingers are caught.
Guards
A static fixed guard has a feed opening at a safe distance from the nip.
An adjustable fixed guard moves up to increase the size of the opening as the distance between rollers increases. While fingers and even hands can reach between rollers, the opening is limited to prevent reach which can cause harm. As the rollers are closed to roll dough or pastry thinner, the guard moves down to decrease the size of the opening.
An automatic guard includes a switching arrangement that reverses the motion of the rollers when the guard opening increases 6 mm above the set amount. Interlocked with the guard, an interlock switch reverses power to the motor which drives the rollers when the guard is pushed up.
Hazard
Harm
- Injuries from falls or entanglement:
- Bruising
- Fractures
- Concussion
Controls
- KEEP up-to-date housekeeping procedures.
- KEEP the area around dough brakes clean and clear of slip and trip hazards.
Task – Maintenance, cleaning & repairs
Hazard
Harm
- Trapped hands or fingers
- Crush injuries
Controls
- LOCK-OUT all power before maintenance, cleaning and repairs.
- TEST emergency stops at the start of each shift.
Instructions MUST be in a language understood by the operators.
Table 1: Separation distances (mm) using fixed guards
Maximum size of feed opening | Minimum separation between opening and trapping point |
---|---|
20 | 140 |
30 | 240 |
40 | 340 |
50 | 440 |
60 | 540 |
70 | 640 |
80 | 740 |
83 | 840 |
Operation with fixed guards
- Guard is secured to the dough moulder and is fixed in position.
- Guard cannot be moved without using tools.
Figure 3: Operation of an adjustable fixed guard
Separation distances (mm) using adjustable fixed guards
Figure 4: Separation distances using adjustable fixed guards
Table 2: Separation distances (mm) using automatic guards
Maximum size of feed opening | Minimum separation between opening and trapping point |
---|---|
25 | 150 |
38 | 255 |
52 | 330 |
64 | 380 |
76 | 435 |
89 | 470 |
102 | 510 |
114 | 535 |
127 | 560 |
152 | 610 |
178 | 660 |
Figure 5: Operation of an automatic guard
Figure 6: Phases of the electrical supply
Electric reverse starter circuit (there are more components needed for a working circuit).
Operation with fixed guards
- An automatic guard moves freely to reverse the rollers of the dough moulder when the guard is raised to increase the size of the feed opening more than specified.
- The guard must be interlocked with motor controls.
- Table 2 measures opening sizes on the feed side of the rollers.
- Table 2 is from measurements agreed between representatives of the baking industry and what was the Department of Labour.
- The trapping point is where the rollers close to 19 mm (explained on page 2).
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