Machine Guarding Assessment

Machine Guarding is (or should be) serious business. Not only is the failure to have appropriate guarding a common OSHA violation, but it is often the one thing that ends up causing a serious injury or even a fatality.

Too many people assume that the machine must be “safe” because that is the way it comes from the manufacturer. This couldn’t be further from the truth! We have seen many cases where machines lack the appropriate guarding by original design or because of modifications made to the machine after purchased.

The purpose of this machine guarding assessment is to provide you with the information needed to fully understand how well your machines are guarded so that corrective action can be taken.

Machine Guarding Risk Assessment. What we do?

If you have machines it is absolutely essential to carry out a thorough guarding assessment. This is especially true when you are implementing a new process or are making changes to existing machinery. Here is a brief explanation of our process:

1. We will conduct a walk through survey to get an idea of the number and types of machines which will require assessment.

2. We will provide you with a pricing structure along with a detailed scope of work.

3. We will assess the potential hazards associated with the use of your machines and determine if any other safe guards need to be put into place.

4. We will provide a detailed written report with deficiencies and practical recommendations for improvement listed.

Although we can point you in the right direction for prefabricated guarding solutions, typically you are responsible for the design, fabrication and installation of the necessary guards.

If this service is of interest, please contact us to find out more.

What is a machine guard?

Each piece of machinery, new or old, has its own unique mechanical and non-mechanical hazards. Machine guards are supposed to be your first line of defense against injuries caused by machine operation. Each machine must have adequate guarding to protect operators and other employees in the immediate work area from hazards created by ingoing nip points, rotating parts, sparks and flying debris.

Having an understanding of how a machine works, and how the guards can protect you, will result in a reduced risk of injury. In order to be in compliance with the numerous OSHA machine guarding requirements plus the related ANSI standards requires a thorough evaluation of your current set up.

In general guards are designed to:
Prevent contact
Be secured in place or otherwise be tamper proof
Create no new hazard
Not interfere with the machine operation

Machine guards are required when:

A wide variety of mechanical motions and actions may present hazards to workers operating or working around machinery. The three basic types of hazardous mechanical motions and actions are:

Hazardous Motions – including rotating machine parts, reciprocating motions (sliding parts or up/down motions), and transverse motions (materials moving in a continuous line);
Points of Operation – the areas where the machine cuts, shapes, bores, or bends the stock being fed through it;
Pinch Points and Shear Points – the area where a part of the body or clothing could be caught between a moving part and a stationary object. This would include power transmission apparatuses such as flywheels, pulleys, belts, chains, couplings, spindles, cams, gears, connecting rods and other machine components that transmit energy.
There are also non-mechanical hazards that can injure machine operators or personnel working in the vicinity of machinery. These hazards include flying splinters, chips or debris; splashes, sparks or sprays that are created when the machine is operating. Also extreme temperatures, noise, airborne contaminants and even radiation can be isolated.