Safety Tidbit 4.33 – Hair in Machinery
References:
I’m sure many of you have observed workers with long beards working around moving equipment. A client recently asked me if there was an OSHA regulation about the length of beards while working around machinery. Beards have been in and out of fashion for as long as men have been able to trim their whiskers. Not one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence wore a beard (Michaud, 2011). In the 1960s and 1970s beards grew in popularity which persists to today.
As I reviewed OSHA’s regulations and interpretations, I could not find any reference to protective measures for hair being caught in a machine. OSHA’s Machine Guarding standard, 1910.212, states: “One or more methods of machine guarding shall be provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips, and sparks.”
Depending on the hazard in your workplace, the employer needs to evaluate each instance. The most drastic control would be to require the man to shave as a condition of employment. For example, if sparks are a concern, then shaving off the beard may seem to be the best alternative. However, control of the sparks might better serve everyone as the fire hazard no longer exists and therefore, cannot burn down the facility.
Unfortunately, OSHA does not have a
ready answer and relies on the employer to evaluate their work environment and
protect each of their workers using best practices. Ultimately, every person with long hair,
working around machinery, knows they need to keep their hair tied up while
working, but how does a man with a long beard “tie up” his beard is another
question. It will depend on the beard and the operation.
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.
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