Safety Tidbit 4.09 - Machine Guarding

Safety Tidbit 4.09 – Machine Guarding

 

Reference:     

I love OSHA’s machine guarding standard. It’s so absolute. 1910.212(a)(3)(ii) reads: “The point of operation of machines whose operation exposes an employee to injury, shall be guarded. The guarding device shall be in conformity with any appropriate standards therefor, or, in the absence of applicable specific standards, shall be so designed and constructed as to prevent the operator from having any part of his body in the danger zone during the operating cycle.” In other words, keep your workers safe, identify the point of operation of your machines and guard them.

The standard has an added benefit to employers. It does not dictate what control they are to use just that they be in conformity with “any appropriate standards.” So, OSHA leaves it up to the discretion of the employer as to what might work best given the employer’s particular circumstances. ANSI helps out a bit here to give some options for the employers to choose from. ANSI says there are guards and devices. A guard is a physical barrier whereas, a device may be a safeguarding device that detects or prevents inadvertent access to a hazard. Or, the device may generate a noticeable (distinctive by sound or intensity) audible or visual signal to warn of an approaching or present hazard. ANSI further describes the use of safe work practices during the following:

·      tasks are complex

·      tasks have high risk;

·      training, skill or work experience is limited;

·      other safeguarding is removed or bypassed;

·      required to augment other safeguarding

To help employers keep their workers safe they can use complimentary equipment such as safety blocks, chain locks, locking pins, work holding equipment, stopping performance monitor. These don’t really get rid of the hazard, but they do help keep unprotected fingers and hands out of harm’s way.

So simply put, protection of the workers is most important. OSHA doesn’t care if the piece of equipment is 100 years old and didn’t come with guards or bought overseas and doesn’t have guarding, the employer must abate the hazard. But hey, they can use their imagination and design something that works well.

Hope this was helpful and thank you for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have a new safety or health question, please let me know.