Basic Installation and Uses of Machinery Guards
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 blockout procedures here. Instead, I’d like to
discuss the importance of machine guarding safety in the workplace. While
tagout, lockout, and blockout procedures are needed for disabled or unused
equipment, machinery guards guards save as your protection for equipment while
they’re in use.
Basics of Machinery Guards
So what are machine guards? What are they
made of? How do they protect employees from getting hit, cut, burned, or
crushed by machines? 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.
The following are some examples of
equipment or machines that require the use of guards: chains, gears, pulleys,
cranks, sprockets, and connecting rods, rope, belt and chain drives, projecting
shaft ends, transmission shaft, flywheels, portable saws, belt tighteners, portable
belt sanders, portable grinders, pneumatic tools, powder actuated tools, and openings
for frequent oiling
Types of Machine Guards
These are the two types of guards that
protect machine operators from injuries:
Fixed guards, protect you from hazardous
parts of machines at ALL times. Only authorized personnel may adjust fixed
guards. Interlocking guards, used only if using a fixed guard is not practical
or feasible. Guard hazards parts before use.
General machine safety measures include to
secure all guards to the machine. Keep guards away from pinch points. Fasteners
used to secure guards to a machine must require the use of tools for their
removal. Brace all guards every 3 ft., or less, to a fixed part of a structure
or machine. Guardrails must be at least 42 in. high with a clearance of at
least 15 in., but not more than 20 in. from the machine. Toeboards must be at
least 4 in. in height.
Remember, with a combination of the use of
machine guards, tagout, blockout, 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. The purpose of machineryguards are 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,
transversing, and/or flying chips & sparks.
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