What are Milling Machine Guards Made Of?
What are they made of? How do they
protect employees from getting hit, cut, burned, or crushed by machines?
Milling machine guards are tangible materials used to keep employees from
having direct contact with a machine’s moving parts. Some guards help protect
you from kickbacks, flying chips and splashing liquids. Guards can come in the
form of sheet, woven or expanded mesh steel. Some machine guards are made of
wood. This is usually the case in chemical or wood manufacturing industries, or
operations that involve chemicals that might corrode metal.
Machine guarding is basically guarding
or protecting machine parts that are the most dangerous. Any machine part,
function, or process which may cause injury must be safeguarded. Machine
guarding reduces the likelihood that an accident will occur because of things
like mechanical failure, human error, electrical failure, or poor design.
Usage of Milling Machine Guards
Using a machine safely, to avoid a
potential injury, entails many factors. There are many different types of
machine safeguards. The type of guard that has to be used depends on the
machine and the hazards it can pose. Before using any equipment the operator
should be trained in how to use the safeguards, where the safeguards are
located, the kind of protection they provide and which hazards they protect
against. Operators need to know how and under what circumstances guards can be
removed and they should be able to identify when guards are damaged, missing or
inadequate.
Machine guarding helps to prevent
amputations, lacerations, crushing injuries and abrasions. Without such
guarding, the resulting injury can be severe or even fatal. There’s never a
good reason to remove a guard on a machine that you’re using, even if you think
you can work faster without it. Guards are there to protect you!
Machine Guarding and Your Protection
Machines account for hundreds of
injuries in the workplace every year. For this reason, employees must secure
machines to prevent them from causing injuries and fatalities. No I’m not
talking about using tagout, lockout, and block out procedures here. Instead,
I’d like to discuss the importance of machine guarding safety in the workplace.
While tagout, lockout, and block out procedures are needed for disabled or
unused equipment, machine guards save as your protection for equipment while
they’re in use.
Remember, with a combination of the use
of milling machine guards, tagout, block out, and lockout procedures, along
with the right PPE and proper training of employees in machine operations, you
don’t have to worry about machine-related accidents in your workplace.
Additionally, this document describes all aspects of machine guarding use,
inspection, personnel accountability for the condition and use of the
equipment, safe work practices, training requirements, and record keeping.
Having an understanding of how a machine works, and how the guards can protect
you, will result in a reduced risk of injury.
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