SAFETY SOLUTIONS: Machine Safeguarding

Are you going to a national machine/equipment trade show this year? Are you planning to purchase a new piece of machinery? If so, you should be aware that the machine that you are purchasing, if built in another country other than the United States, may not meet the current OSHA standards. Many pieces of equipment that are manufactured in other countries such as China, Taiwan, or elsewhere may be on the Consumers Product Safety Commissions (CPSC) website.

Today, you can still attend new machinery shows and find machinery that does not meet the basic intent of the OSHA standards. Designing machine safety also has product liability implications. A product liability Òstate of the art designÓ is established by case law and social expectations that demand a high level of safety for the users and bystanders. If a machine is defective and its use results in injury, the injured party may seek compensation through product liability.

CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer.

Guarding of machinery is required to prevent injury to the operator and other people in the machine area. It is presumed that machine designers strive to produce machinery, which will perform the intended function without damage to itself and without causing injury to the operator.

Today, many well known machine manufacturers still fabricate and sell their equipment without the necessary safeguards and electrical controls required by OSHA, national consensus standards and various safety regulations to protect people from hazards not associated with the point of operation or other machine hazards.

Would you want to purchase their equipment for your family, students or employees to use without it being equipped with the proper safety equipment? Would you like to be cited by OSHA and penalized for not having the proper safeguarding equipment that is required to be installed by the manufacturer? Well, chances are, you are at risk for this potential everyday. Today, many of these hazards are missed or overlooked by most inspectors and they end up in your shop.

So before you buy your new machine, please visit the Consumer Product Safety Commissions website at www.CPSC.gov and its lists products that are under recall. Unless someone knows of this important website, owners of various pieces of equipment may never hear of these recalls. For example, in December the Consumer Product Safety Commission listed a radial arm saw that was recalled because the blade guard did not fully cover the lower blade. The recall stated ÒIn cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Emerson Tool Co., of St. Louis, Mo., is recalling about 3.7 million Craftsman¨ radial arm saws for repair. These radial arm saws were sold without a guard that covers the entire blade. Consumers have come into contact with the blade or have been hit by pieces of wood kicked back by the saws, resulting in severe injuriesÓ. Did OSHA cite any business owner for this hazard? Was it a fair citation? The owner presumed they had purchased a safe piece of equipment.

Does the machine or product have to be a large machine? No, the CPSC issued a recall of a paper shredder. Their web site listed the following information Last year I served as an expert witness on this last machine issue where two employees had their hands amputated by a not properly guarded paper-shredding machine.

If you need help with your machinery or have a question about OSHA, please give us a call or e-mail me and I will research the issue for you.

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