Precautions with Safety Guarding


Each piece of machinery has its own unique mechanical and non-mechanical hazards. Machines can cause a variety of injuries ranging from minor abrasions, burns or cuts to severe injuries such as fractures, lacerations, crushing injuries or even amputation. Machine safetyguarding are your first line of defense against injuries caused by machine operation. Each machine must have adequate safeguards to protect operators and other employees in the immediate work area from hazards created by ingoing nip points, rotating parts, sparks and flying debris.

HOW MACHINE WORKS

Having an understanding of how a machine works, and how the guards can protect you, will result in a reduced risk of injury. In order to be in compliance with Cal/OSHA requirements, all guards must:


·Prevent contact – machine guards must provide a physical barrier that prevents the operator from having any part of his/her body in the “danger zone” during the machine’s operating cycle;

Be secured in place or otherwise be tamper proof – machine guards must be secure and strong so that workers are not able to bypass, remove, or tamper with them. They must be attached to the machine where possible. If the guard cannot be physically attached to the machine it must be attached elsewhere;

·Create no new hazard – A safeguard defeats its own purpose if it creates a hazard of its own such as a shear point, a jagged edge, or an unfinished surface which can cause a laceration. The edges of guards, for instance, should be rolled or bolted in such a way that they eliminate sharp edges. Machine guards should not obstruct the operator’s view; 

· Allow for lubrication with the guard still in place - If possible, one should be able to lubricate the machine without removing safeguards. Locating oil reservoirs outside the guard, with a line leading to the lubrication point, will reduce the need for the operator or maintenance worker to enter the hazardous area;

· Not interfere with the machine operation - Any safeguard which impedes a worker from performing the job quickly and comfortably might soon be overridden or disregarded. Proper safeguarding can actually enhance efficiency since it can relieve the worker’s apprehensions about injury.

METHODS OF SAFETY GUARDING

There are five (5) general types of machine safety guarding that can be used to protect workers and personnel in the immediate vicinity of machinery. They are:

  •   Guards – these are physical barriers that prevent contact. They can be fixed, interlocked, adjustable, or self-adjusting. 
  •   Devices – these limit or prevent access to the hazardous area. These can be presence-sensing devices, pullback or restraint straps, safety trip controls, two-hand controls, or gates.
  • Automated Feeding and Ejection Mechanisms – These eliminate the operator’s exposure to the point of operation while handling stock (materials).
  •          Machine Location or Distance – this method removes the hazard from the operator’s work area.
  •        Miscellaneous Aids – these methods can be used to protect both operators and people in the immediate vicinity of operating machinery. Examples include shields to contain chips, sparks, sprays or other forms of flying debris; holding tools that an operator can use to handle materials going into the point of operation; and awareness barriers to warn people about hazards in the area.


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