Machine Guarding
If You Can Reach the Moving Part, the Guard Is Not Doing Its Job
Conveyors, rollers, couplings and other moving parts can draw a person into danger before there is time to react. Familiarity, slow speed or a quick adjustment does not make access safe. Before equipment runs, confirm that guards prevent contact, that routine tasks can be completed without reaching into the danger zone and that isolation is used whenever access is required.
Controls to confirm
- Inspect fixed and interlocked guards before use, and do not operate equipment when a guard is missing, damaged, loose or defeated.
- Keep hands, tools and loose materials away from moving parts, and use the designed controls or handling aids for normal operation.
- Stop and isolate the equipment through the approved procedure before clearing a blockage, cleaning, adjusting or entering a guarded area.
Today’s action
Before the first equipment start, physically check the guarding and ask the operator to explain how the machine will be safely stopped and isolated if access is needed.
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