OSHA Requirements for Milling Machine Guards


Moving machine parts have the potential to cause severe workplace injuries, such as crushed fingers or hands, amputations, burns, or blindness. Amputations, lacerations, and abrasions are costly and have the potential to increase workers' compensation premiums.  Amputation is one of the most severe and crippling types of injuries in the occupational workplace, often resulting in permanent disability. Due to this fact, OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) has established a set of standards around milling machine guards. The purpose of machine guarding is to protect the machine operator and other employees in the work area from hazards created during the machine's normal operation.  This would include hazards of concern such as: ingoing nip points, rotating parts, reciprocating, trans-versing, and/or flying chips & sparks.

The Importance of Milling Machine Guards
Any machine part, function, or process that might cause injury must be safeguarded. When the operation of a machine or accidental contact with it could injure the operator or others in the vicinity, the hazards must be either controlled or eliminated.

Traditionally, those who worked with metals or similar materials shaped the metals by hand. Although with repeated practice a person could get good at it, shaping metal by hand was a difficult and time consuming endeavor. Today, the need to shape metal by hand has been eliminated. This is because of the machines that have been created to do it for you. A milling machine was invented to shape metal or other materials. They come either as vertical or horizontal machines. They can be ordered online at terrific prices with complete customer support. Look for a vendor that does not use third party sources. A company that supplies milling machines can offer the best service when products are created onsite. You will find many different sizes of milling machines. Take your time in choosing the machine. The machines are affordable and state-of-the-art. They are built to work well and to last.

OSHA Security and Protection Code
OSHA’s Code of Federal Regulations 1910.212 General Requirements For All Machines specifies that one or more methods of machine guarding shall be provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips, and sparks.

Choices for these milling machine guards and methods may include one or more of the following: chip and coolant shields, guards (fixed, movable, and/or interlocked), presence-sensing devices two-hand control, awareness barriers and devices. Correctly applied chip/coolant shields meet OSHA’s minimum requirements for point-of-operation protection for operators of manually operated milling machines. Automated (CNC) mills require interlocked guards at the point of operation. Rockford Systems encourages all employers to exceed minimum requirements and abide by the best safety practices.

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