OSHA Machine Guarding

OSHA Machine Guarding

Machine guards, which OSHA standards control, are safety guards that also control traffic, prevent vehicles and workers from wandering into a dangerous area, warn employees of hazards and prevent flying debris from injuring workers. OSHA machine guarding requirements ensure safe working conditions in plants, warehouses, factories and manufacturing facilities where heavy machinery is used. Most of the machinery that is considered dangerous is automated or robotic and has the potential to cause severe injury, including crushed hands, loss of limbs, burns, blindness and death, all of which are preventable by using machine guards. OSHA requires machine guarding mechanisms around any machinery that could possibly cause injury, including those that shear, punch, bend, reciprocate, rotate, cut and press. Machines with ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips and debris, sparks, saws or cutters must also work in conjunction with a machine guard. These guards are made of sheet metal, plastic, wire mesh and sometimes wood.

There are 4 different types of machine guards, as defined by OSHA. The first are called fixed and are an integral part of the machinery. They are permanent components made from sheet metal, wire mesh, bars or plastic panels such as polycarbonate. Interlocked machine guards are electronically connected to the machinery. When a breach occurs, the machinery is automatically shut down immediately. Adjustable machine guards allow workers to move them around, and self adjusting automatically alters their positions. All machine guards, regardless of application, must adhere to 5 OSHA requirements. First, they must prevent all contact with the dangerous components of the machinery. They must always be secured; if not to the machine itself, then the walls or ground. All guards must have high impact strength to stay in place at all times. They all protect workers from falling and flying objects and create no new hazards. Machine guards must not create an interference which could slow down the manufacturing or fabrication process, or create difficulty for any workers. Finally, since many machines must be regularly lubricated to work properly, machine guards cannot inhibit, but rather allow safe lubrication.