10 Jan Caught-In, Caught-Between, and Crush Hazards

Caught-In, Caught-Between, and Crush Hazards

Caught-in, caught-between, and crush hazards occur when a worker or body part becomes trapped, squeezed, pinched, pulled into, or compressed between objects or moving equipment. These incidents can cause bruises and cuts, fractures, amputations, crushing injuries, or fatalities.

These hazards are commonly associated with machinery, vehicles, material handling, construction equipment, doors, stored materials, and everyday tools. Recognizing pinch points and danger zones before beginning work is one of the most effective ways to prevent injuries.

Recognize the Hazards

Before beginning a task, identify locations where hands, feet, clothing, hair, or the entire body could become caught or crushed.

Common hazards include:

• Rotating shafts, gears, belts, pulleys, sprockets, and chains;
• Conveyors, rollers, and feed mechanisms;
• Moving machine components;
• Hydraulic and pneumatic equipment;
• Forklifts and mobile equipment;
• Vehicles and trailers;
• Powered doors and gates;
• Suspended, stacked, or shifting materials;
• Hinges, doors, drawers, and lids;
• Loads being lifted, lowered, or positioned; and
• Equipment that can move unexpectedly due to gravity or stored energy.

Plan the task before starting and identify where your hands and body will be throughout the operation.

Machine Guarding

Machine guards provide a physical barrier between workers and hazardous moving parts.

Employees must:

• Never operate equipment with required guards removed or damaged.
• Never reach around, under, over, or through a machine guard.
• Never bypass, defeat, or disable an interlock or other safety device.
• Keep hands and tools away from operating machinery.
• Report missing, damaged, or ineffective guards immediately.
• Remove unsafe equipment from service when required.

Never reach into moving machinery to retrieve material, make an adjustment, or clear a jam.

Use push sticks, tools, or other devices specifically designed to keep hands away from hazardous areas when required by the equipment or procedure.

Lockout/Tagout

Turning a machine off does not necessarily make it safe. Machinery may contain electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, gravitational, or other stored energy capable of causing unexpected movement.

Before servicing, repairing, adjusting, cleaning, or clearing jams where unexpected startup or release of hazardous energy could cause injury, employees must follow the company’s Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Program.

Only authorized employees may perform lockout/tagout activities.

Never place any part of your body inside hazardous machinery until required energy sources have been isolated and stored or residual energy has been controlled.

Mobile Equipment and Vehicles

Forklifts, trucks, loaders, excavators, trailers, and other mobile equipment can create severe caught-between and crushing hazards.

To prevent injuries:

• Stay out of equipment operating zones unless authorized to enter.
• Never position yourself between moving equipment and a wall, vehicle, structure, material stack, or other fixed object.
• Maintain visual or other established communication with equipment operators.
• Stay clear of equipment swing radiuses and articulation points.
• Never walk beneath elevated equipment, forks, buckets, or suspended loads.
• Use designated pedestrian routes when provided.
• Follow established backing and spotter procedures.

Operators must stop equipment when workers enter an area where they could be struck or crushed.

Blocking and Supporting Equipment

Never work beneath raised vehicles, machinery, attachments, or loads that are supported only by hydraulic or mechanical lifting systems.

Before entering a hazardous area:

• Lower equipment when possible.
• Shut down and isolate applicable energy sources.
• Install manufacturer-approved blocking, cribbing, stands, or other positive supports.
• Verify that the equipment is stable before beginning work.

Never use hands, feet, or other body parts to test whether a load or component is stable.

Material Handling

Hands and feet are particularly vulnerable when materials are being lifted, lowered, stacked, positioned, or transported.

Employees should:

• Keep hands away from pinch points when positioning materials.
• Never place fingers beneath a load when setting it down.
• Use handles, tag lines, push tools, or other appropriate devices when necessary.
• Test or evaluate a load before attempting to lift or move it.
• Use mechanical assistance or obtain help with heavy or awkward materials.
• Keep feet clear when lowering materials.
• Never attempt to catch a falling object.
• Stay clear of suspended loads.

Make sure stacked materials are stable and secured against sliding, rolling, or collapsing.

Clothing, Hair, and Jewelry

Loose clothing, jewelry, gloves, and long hair can become entangled in rotating equipment.

When working around machinery:

• Wear properly fitted work clothing.
• Secure loose sleeves and shirttails.
• Tie back and secure long hair.
• Remove dangling jewelry and other items that could become caught.
• Wear gloves only when appropriate for the task.

Gloves can create an additional entanglement hazard around rotating machinery. Do not wear gloves where they could be caught and pull the hand into moving equipment.

Hand and Finger Safety

Even ordinary workplace objects can create pinch points. Doors, drawers, lids, carts, crates, tools, and materials can crush or pinch fingers.

Keep hands and fingers away from closing surfaces and never place them where movement of equipment or materials could trap them.

When working with another employee to move or position material, communicate before lifting, lowering, pushing, or releasing the load.

Maintain Situational Awareness

Caught-in and crush incidents frequently occur when workers lose awareness of changing conditions.

While performing work:

• Give the task your full attention.
• Avoid horseplay and unnecessary distractions.
• Do not rush or take shortcuts.
• Follow equipment warning labels and operating instructions.
• Maintain adequate lighting and housekeeping.
• Stop work when conditions change unexpectedly.
• Report unsafe equipment or conditions immediately.

Before moving equipment, materials, or your own body, ask yourself: Where are my hands, feet, and body, and what could move?

Training

Employees exposed to caught-in, caught-between, or crush hazards should receive training appropriate to their work, including:

• Recognition of pinch points and danger zones;
• Machine guarding requirements;
• Lockout/tagout procedures applicable to their duties;
• Safe material-handling practices;
• Mobile-equipment and pedestrian safety;
• Proper blocking and equipment support;
• Appropriate clothing and PPE; and
• Procedures for reporting unsafe conditions and defective equipment.

Remember

Never place yourself in the line of fire. Keep hands and body parts away from pinch points, stay out from between moving equipment and fixed objects, never bypass guards, and use lockout/tagout whenever hazardous energy must be controlled.

A few seconds spent identifying what can move, where it can move, and what could get caught between it can prevent a life-changing injury.