Unsafe machinery is one of the most serious potential hazards for employees. injuries caused by faulty machinery or machinery used improperly can be critical or even fatal. This is why OSHA instituted Standard 1910.212. This standard outlines the safety requirements for machine guarding, giving you a series of steps to take to ensure your machinery is safe.

First, you need to determine which of your machines require guarding. This is any machine which presents a potential hazard. These hazards can include: point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips, or sparks. If you have any machines with these or other hazards, you need to ensure you have adequate guarding in place.

Should you have any of these hazards, you need to ensure you have the correct machine guarding in place. OSHA sets some basic guidelines for what type of guarding is required for various potential hazards. For instance, “Revolving drums, barrels, and containers shall be guarded by an enclosure which is interlocked with the drive mechanism, so that the barrel, drum, or container cannot revolve unless the guard enclosure is in place.” (1910.212 (a)(4)) Further, you need to ensure that any machine guards are affixed to the  machine if possible. If not possible, the guard must be secured elsewhere, but in such a way that the guard does not create an additional hazard.

It is important to also put in place accurate signage explaining how to safely use your machinery. To ensure your signage and machine guarding are up to code and to ensure maximum efficacy, it is important to have annual third party safety audits, so that trained professionals can look over your facility. If you have any questions about machine guarding, safety signs, or third party safety audits, please contact us. If you have anything to add about machine guarding, please leave a comment.