OSHAX.

org - The Unofficial Guide To the OSHA 1

Introduction
Crushed hands and arms, severed fingers, blindness -
the list of possible machinery-related injuries is as long
as it is horrifying. Safeguards are essential for protecting
workers from needless and preventable injuries.

A good rule to remember is: Any machine part, function,

or process which may cause injury must be safeguarded.

Where the operation of a machine can injure the

operator or other workers, the hazard must be controlled
or eliminated.

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Causes of Machine Accidents
 Reaching in to
“clear” equipment
 Not using
Lockout/Tagout
 Unauthorized
persons doing
maintenance or
using the machines
 Missing or loose
machine guards

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Where Mechanical Hazards Occur
 Point of operation
 All parts of the
machine which move,
such as:
 flywheels, pulleys,
belts, couplings,
chains, cranks, gears,
etc.
 feed mechanisms and
auxiliary parts of the
machine
 In-running nip points

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Point of Operation
That point where work is performed on the
material, such as cutting, shaping, boring,
or forming of stock must be guarded.

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Rotating Parts

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In-Running Nip Points
Rotating Belt and
cylinders pulley

Chain and Rack and

sprocket pinion

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Requirements for Safeguards
 Prevent contact - prevent worker’s
body or clothing from contacting
hazardous moving parts
 Secure - firmly secured to machine
and not easily removed
 Protect from falling objects -
ensure that no objects can fall
into moving parts
 Create no new hazards - must
not have shear points, jagged
edges or unfinished surfaces
 Create no interference - must not
prevent worker from performing
the job quickly and comfortably
 Allow safe lubrication - if possible,
be able to lubricate the machine
without removing the safeguards

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 Methods of Machine Safeguarding
 Guards  Location/distance
 fixed  Feeding and ejection
 interlocked methods
 adjustable  automatic and/or semi-
 self-adjusting automatic feed and
 Devices ejection
 presence sensing  robots
 pullback  Miscellaneous aids
 restraint  awareness barriers
 safety controls (tripwire cable,
 protective shields
two-hand contol, etc.)
 gates  hand-feeding tools

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Fixed Guard
Provides a barrier - a permanent part of the
machine, preferable to all other types of guards.

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Interlocked Guard
When this type of guard is opened or removed, the
tripping mechanism and/or power automatically
shuts off or disengages, and the machine cannot
cycle or be started until the guard is back in place.

Interlocked
guard on
revolving drum

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Adjustable Guard
Provides a barrier which may be adjusted to
facilitate a variety of production operations.

Bandsaw blade
adjustable guard

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Self-Adjusting Guard
Provides a barrier which moves according to
the size of the stock entering the danger area.

Circular table saw

self-adjusting guard

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Pullback Device
 Utilizes a series of
cables attached to the
operator’s hands,
wrists, and/or arms
 Primarily used on
machines with stroking
action
 Allows access to the
point of operation when
the slide/ram is up
 Withdraws hands when
the slide/ram begins to
descend

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Pullback Device (cont’d)

 Hands in die, feeding  Die closed

 Point of operation exposed  Hands withdrawn from
 Pullback device attached point of operation by
and properly adjusted pullback device

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Restraint Device
 Uses cables or straps
attached to the operator’s
hands and a fixed point
 Must be adjusted to let the
operator’s hands travel
within a predetermined
safe area
 Hand-feeding tools are
often necessary if the
operation involves placing
material into the danger
area

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Safety Tripwire Cables
 Device located
around the
perimeter of or near
the danger area
 Operator must be
able to reach the
cable to stop the
machine

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Two-Hand Control
 Requires constant,
concurrent pressure
to activate the
machine
 The operator’s hands
are required to be at a
safe location (on
control buttons) and
at a safe distance
from the danger area
while the machine
completes its closing
cycle

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Gate
 Movable barrier device
which protects the
operator at the point of
operation before the
machine cycle can be
started
 If the gate does not
fully close, machine will
not function

Gate Open Gate Closed

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Safeguarding by
Location/Distance
 Locate the machine or its
dangerous moving parts so that
they are not accessible or do
not present a hazard to a
worker during normal operation
 Maintain a safe distance from
the danger area

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Automatic Feed
(shown on power press)

Transparent
Enclosure
Guard

Stock Feed
Roll

Danger
Area

Completed Work

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Robots
 Machines that load
and unload stock,
assemble parts,
transfer objects, or
perform other tasks
 Best used in high-
production
processes requiring
repeated routines
where they prevent
other hazards to
employees

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Protective Shields
These do not give complete protection from machine
hazards, but do provide some protection from flying
particles, splashing cutting oils, or coolants.

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Holding Tools
 Used to place and
remove stock in the
danger area
 Not to be used
instead of other
machine
safeguards, but as a
supplement

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Some Examples of Machine
Guarding Requirements . . . .

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Guarding Fan Blades
When the periphery of the blades of a fan is less
than 7 feet above the floor or working level, the
blades must be guarded with a guard having
openings no larger than 1/2 inch.

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Abrasive Wheel Machinery
Work rests on offhand grinding machines must be kept
adjusted closely to the wheel with a maximum opening
of 1/8-inch to prevent the work from being jammed
between the wheel and the rest, which may result in
wheel breakage.

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Abrasive Wheel Machinery
The distance between the wheel periphery and the
adjustable tongue must never exceed 1/4-inch.

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Power-Transmission Apparatus

Power-transmission Unguarded belt

apparatus (shafting, and pulley
flywheels, pulleys, belts,
chain drives, etc.) less
than 7 feet from the floor
or working platform must
be guarded.

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Machine Safety
Responsibilities
 Management
 ensure all machinery is properly
guarded
 Supervisors
 train employees on specific guard
rules in their areas
 ensure machine guards remain in
place and are functional
 immediately correct machine
guard deficiencies
 Employees
 do not remove guards unless
machine is locked and tagged
 report machine guard problems to
supervisors immediately
 do not operate equipment unless
guards are in place

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Training
Operators should receive training on the following:
 Hazards associated with
particular machines
 How the safeguards provide
protection and the hazards
for which they are intended
 How and why to use the
safeguards
 How and when safeguards
can be removed and by
whom
 What to do if a safeguard is
damaged, missing, or
unable to provide adequate
protection

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Summary
 Safeguards are essential for
protecting workers from
needless and preventable
machinery-related injuries
 The point of operation, as well
as all parts of the machine
that move while the machine
is working, must be
safeguarded
 A good rule to remember is:
Any machine part, function, or
process which may cause
injury must be safeguarded

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