Machine guarding is a very important safety control. Guarding can protect against:
- Debris, particulates and other projectiles from flying out of the machine
- Pinch-points caused by moving components
- People from entering energized work areas
- Machines or components within machines from inadvertently shifting or moving during operations
- Sparks, electrical arcs and internal fires from expanding beyond a controlled area within the machine
- Whipping from broken belts and other materials under high tension or stress
- Using ventilation systems and hoods to reduce or prevent inhalation of hazardous fumes
- Using retaining walls, enclosures and spill containment devices to prevent chemicals, objects and other materials from reaching undesirable areas
Guidelines for ensuring machine guarding are effective:
- Ensure the guarding is properly fastened or anchored and not loose.
- Verify the guarding is strong enough to withstand the expected forces.
- If the guarding is perforated (for example a fence) then the holes in the guarding should be smaller than the smallest object that could fly from the machine.
- Always inspect and verify the guarding is adequate before operating the machine.
Machine Guarding Handbook: A Practical Guide to OSHA Compliance and Injury Prevention
Machine Guarding Handbook is a must-have reading for safety engineers and managers in manufacturing and other industrial settings who need to incorporate an effective machine guarding safety program, meet OSHA requirements, and protect workers. It provides a basic overview of OSHA's requirements, making compliance easier to achieve, thus preventing the risk of worker injury or mutilation and reducing the occurrence of costly penalties and OSHA audits.
This 106-page book explores and discusses the hazards of unguarded machines, common safeguarding methods, the safeguarding of machines and robots, the importance of guarding, the varying methods of machine guarding, training, inspection and maintenance, and safeguarding techniques. In addition, it provides both regulatory information and the material required to implement a viable machine guarding program.
Special features include a sample lockout/tagout program, checklists, a machine-guarding case study, chapter summaries, and the complete OSHA Machine Guarding and Lockout/Tagout Standards.