14 Nov Guard Against Machine Injuries

Guard Against Machine Injuries

Machines make many jobs easier and more efficient, but moving equipment can cause severe injuries in an instant. Hands, fingers, clothing, hair, and other body parts can become caught in machinery when guards are missing, employees reach into hazardous areas, or equipment starts unexpectedly.

Tasks that appear routine—such as clearing a jam, retrieving a dropped object, cleaning equipment, or making an adjustment—can expose workers to dangerous moving parts. Never assume that a stopped machine is safe to enter or service.

Know the Hazards

Machine hazards may include:

• Points of operation where cutting, shaping, drilling, crushing, or other work is performed.
• Pinch and nip points where body parts can become caught between moving components.
• Power-transmission components such as belts, pulleys, chains, sprockets, gears, shafts, and couplings.
• Rotating or reciprocating parts that can catch clothing, jewelry, hair, or body parts.
• Unexpected startup or movement while equipment is being cleaned, adjusted, serviced, or repaired.
• Stored energy from electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, gravitational, or other energy sources.

Machine Guards Protect You

Machine guards and other safeguarding devices are designed to prevent employees from contacting hazardous moving parts. Guards must be properly installed, secured, and maintained.

Never:

• Remove, bypass, disable, or modify a machine guard or safety device.
• Operate equipment with a missing, damaged, or improperly positioned guard.
• Reach over, around, under, or through a guard while machinery is operating.
• Attempt to retrieve tools, materials, or other objects from moving equipment.
• Assume another employee will notice that you are working on the equipment.

If a guard or protective device is damaged or missing, stop using the equipment and report the condition immediately.

Clearing Jams and Performing Maintenance

Turning a machine off with its normal operating control may not make it safe. Hazardous energy can remain stored in the equipment, and another employee could restart the machine unexpectedly.

Before cleaning, clearing jams, servicing, repairing, or performing maintenance where unexpected startup or release of hazardous energy could cause injury:

1. Shut down the equipment using established procedures.
2. Identify all hazardous energy sources.
3. Isolate the equipment from its energy sources.
4. Apply required lockout/tagout (LOTO) devices.
5. Release, block, restrain, or otherwise control stored energy.
6. Verify that isolation and de-energization are effective before beginning work.

Only authorized employees may perform lockout/tagout in accordance with the company’s hazardous-energy-control procedures.

Safe Work Practices

When working with or around machinery:

• Inspect guards and safety devices before operating equipment.
• Keep hands and body parts away from points of operation and moving components.
• Use tools specifically designed for feeding, removing, or handling material when required.
• Keep work areas clean and free of debris that could interfere with equipment operation.
• Never wear loose clothing, jewelry, or other items that could become entangled in machinery.
• Secure long hair when working around moving equipment.
• Never distract or interfere with someone operating machinery.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and established safe operating procedures.
• Operate machinery only when trained and authorized to do so.
• Immediately report unusual noises, vibration, damaged guards, recurring jams, or other unsafe conditions.

Remember

A machine does not have to be operating normally to hurt you. Never reach into machinery, bypass a guard, or attempt to clear a jam until the equipment has been made safe. When hazardous energy is involved, follow lockout/tagout procedures before beginning work.