Machine Guarding
Crushed hands and arms, severed fingers, and blindness, the list of possible machinery related injuries is as long as it is horrifying. There seem to be as many hazards created by moving machine parts, as there are types of machines. Safeguards are essential for protecting workers from needless and preventable injuries.
A good rule to remember is; any machine part, function, or process, which may cause injury, must be safeguarded. When the operation of a machine or accidental contact with it can injure the operator or others in the vicinity, the hazards must be either controlled or eliminated.
A wide variety of mechanical motions and actions may present hazards to the worker. These can include the movement of rotating members, reciprocating arms, moving belts, meshing gears, cutting teeth, and any parts that impact or shear. These different types of hazardous mechanical motions and actions are basic in varying combinations to nearly all machines, and recognizing them is the first step toward protecting workers from the danger they present.
Dangerous moving parts in three basic areas require safeguarding:
- Point of operation: (The point where work is performed).
- Power transmission apparatus: (All components of the mechanical system, which transmit energy to the part of the machine performing the work. This includes flywheels, pulleys, belts, connecting rods, couplings, cams, chains, cranks, and gears).
- Other moving parts: (All parts of the machine which move while the machine is working. These can include reciprocating, rotating, and transverse moving parts, as well as feed mechanisms and auxiliary parts of the machine.
What must a safeguard do to protect workers against mechanical hazards? Safeguards must meet these minimum general requirements.
- Prevent contact: (The safeguard must prevent hands, arms, and any other part of a worker's body from making contact with dangerous moving parts).
- Secure: (Workers should not be able to easily remove or tamper with the safeguard).
- Protect from falling objects: (The safeguard should ensure that no objects can fall into moving parts).
- Allow safe lubrication: (If possible you should be able to lubricate the machine without removing the safeguards).
- Create no new hazards: (Such as a shear point or jagged edge).
- Create no interference: (Any safeguard which impedes a worker from performing the job quickly and comfortably might soon be overridden or disregarded).