Understanding the Importance of Machine Guarding in the Workplace
It is your responsibility as an employer to make sure that you protect your employees against non-mechanical and mechanical hazards caused by machinery at all times. These can include anything from minor bruises, cuts, and burns all the way up to serious injuries like lacerations, crushing injuries, fractures, and even amputation in more severe cases. This is why machine guarding is essential if you want to protect your employees from hazards caused by rotating parts, ingoing nip points, flying debris, and sparks.
Machine Injury Statistics
Not having proper machine guarding in place exposes your employees to serious risk. And the number of injuries employees suffer every year is harrowing.
According to OSHA statistics, over 18,000 machinery workers every year suffer injuries. And over 800 machinery workers die as well. While there might be many issues behind these injuries, poor guarding remains one of the biggest reasons why many injuries occur.
According to the OSHA, machine guarding is still severely lacking in many workplaces, and there is a direct correlation with poor guarding and the increased number of accidents.
How to be Compliant with OSHA Rules
In order to be compliant, machine guarding has to meet certain standards. First, the guarding must prevent any of your employees’ body parts from entering the danger area of any particular machine while it’s in operation. Machine guarding also has to be tamper-proof and properly secured in place. The guarding must not interfere with how the machine operates in any way and lubrication should still be possible even with the guarding in place.
In addition, you also have to make sure that the guards don't introduce any new hazards. For instance, a safeguard could create additional hazards like shear points, unfinished surfaces that could lead to lacerations or jagged edges.
Different Machine Guarding Types
There are many different types of machine guarding that you can use in your business, all with their own specificities and purpose. They usually fit into two categories: point guarding and fixed perimeter guarding. Guards, for instance, are a form of point guarding and their main goal is to provide a physical barrier that will protect your employees from contact. One prime example of point guarding are shields for wood lathes.
Perimeter guarding is when you install some sort of static barrier around a specific area to protect workers from reaching machinery. These will often be installed where automated machines and robots operate.
There are also many types of safety devices that can be used in addition to guarding in order to provide even more safety. Electrical interlocks are a prime example. By adding electrical interlocks on a machine’s circuit, the machine will turn off instantly if any access point is opened, which greatly reduces the chances for injury.
Conclusion
Guarding your employees against hazards caused by machinery is not only essential for their well-being but also to stay compliant and ensure maximum efficiency and productivity in your workplace. Make sure that you do everything in your power to keep your employees safe at all time, their lives and your livelihood depends on it.
