Your employees work with a variety of moving machine parts each day that must be used properly to meet safety standards. Even the slightest act of negligence can have very serious repercussions, such as amputations, crushed fingers or hands, blindness and burns. Establishing safeguards is essential to protect your team from these highly preventable injuries.
Any machine part, function or process that has the potential to cause injury must be safeguarded prior to use. If an accident does occur, steps must be taken to eliminate or control the hazards, to decrease the likeliness of a second occurrence from happening.
Machine Guarding Basics
Machine guarding is used to protect the operator of the machine and other employees in the vicinity from safety hazards generated by rotating parts, ingoing nip points, sparks and flying chips. A few examples of these safety measures include light curtains, barrier guards and two-hand operating devices.
OSHA general requirements for safeguards include they cannot create potential safety hazards and they must be attached to the machine when possible. In the event that they cannot be fastened to the machine, they must be connected elsewhere.
Point of Operation
The point of operation is defined as the part of a machine where the work is actually performed after the material is processed. Any machine that exposes an employee to potential injury is required to be guarded under OSHA standards. The guarding device should conform to any existing standards or be designed and constructed to prevent the machine operator from having any part of their body in danger during use. Additionally, special tools for placing and removing material must be present so the operator doesn’t have to put a hand in the danger zone.
Some machines that typically require point of operation guarding include shears, alligator shears, guillotine cutters, jointers, power saws, milling machines, portable power tools, forming rolls and calendars and power presses.
If you have any questions about proper machine guarding, contact your regional or area OSHA office, call 1-800-321-OSHA or visit the OSHA Offices by State webpage. It’s always best to be overly cautious, as there’s nothing more important than protecting your workers from harm.
Partner with Premium, Staffing Inc. to find the best person for the job every time. You can count on us to be the recruiting arm of your HR department.