GENERAL safety and maintenance rules

� Warning against mechanical hazards. These warnings are normally brief, such as calling attention to the danger involved in standing under a suspended weapon. Operating personnel reading such warnings are expected to use common sense in avoiding the hazard. CAUTIONS. These are captions that draw attention to situations that may be potentially damaging to equipment. They are mentioned in notes headed by the word “CAUTION.” A typical caution might be written for improper lifting, pushing, or pulling on control surfaces during the handling of projectiles. A related type of caption, NOTE, follows applicable steps that direct action and amplify the action to be performed. Notes that precede a procedural guide (PG), operation procedure (OP), or check list (CL) amplify the entire procedure. In summary: WARNING—Warns of danger to personnel. CAUTION—Warns of danger to equipment. NOTE—Amplifies information or instruction. Since we will discuss various handling methods in this chapter, we will first list several of the GENERAL safety and maintenance rules that apply to all handling evolutions: 1. Verify that the surrounding area is clear of personnel and obstructions before you operate equipment. 2. Restrict noise and conversation to the minimum required to perform the evolution. 3. Do not stand or walk under suspended loads or weapons. 4. Do not load handling equipment above its maximum rated capacity (safe working load). Before you use handling equipment, inspect it according to the applicable Maintenance Requirement Card (MRC) and type commander’s directives. 5. Do not raise weapons higher or suspend them longer than necessary. 6. Keep weapons as level as possible when you lift them. 7. Do not allow weapons to contact any deck or equipment during lifting. 8. Verify that hooks used to handle weapons have operable safety latches or are moused. 9. Ensure that guide studs on weapons are aligned with the guide slot during loading and unloading. 10. Do not allow weapons to be unrestrained, in any direction, unless you are directed to do so in the procedure. 11. Use toxic cleaning agents sparingly and in well-ventilated areas. Vapors of most cleaning agents are toxic if inhaled in large quantities for extended periods. Be sure that cleaning agent containers are kept closed except when in use. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water after using these agents. 12. Use flammable cleaning agents and paints sparingly and only in well-ventilated areas. Be sure that no sparks, open flames, or other sources of ignition are present when you use these materials. 13. Do not strike or drop high-explosive components. Be sure that no sparks, open flames, or other sources of ignition are to be present when you work with explosives. 14. Observe all precautions for handling explosives. Do not remove an armed exploder from any weapon. Only EOD personnel may remove an armed exploder. 15. Ground yourself immediately before you touch an electrical connector or wire connected to a weapon by making bare skin-to-metal contact with the weapon. 16. Inspect all electrical connectors for bent pins and other physical damage. Always engage and disengage electrical connectors by holding the connector, never the wire. 17. Do not connect or disconnect energized electrical connectors unless you are directed to do so by authorized procedural documentation. 18. Keep the compression system free of foreign material to prevent the spontaneous combustion of oil or other carbonaceous material with hot, highly compressed air. 19. Using extreme care, shut the appropriate valves and bleed all air from lines and bodies before you disconnect fittings. 5-3