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SAFETY SOLUTIONS: Machine Safety
I recently attended the AWSF woodworking Expo in Las
Vegas. It was a pleasure to finally meet many of the
machine manufactures like SCM Group, Thermwood,
MultiCam, Stiles and many other wonderful suppliers of
plastic products and cutting tools who advertise in
Plastics Distributor® & Fabricator Magazine. Thank you
for the time and courtesy that you extended to me during
your busiest time to discuss your product and show me
your safety and machine guarding efforts.
I was impressed with the efforts that these and other
manufacturers have achieved in guarding their CNC
routers and machines to meet the current OSHA and
State OSHA standards. This is an important factor since
injuries resulting from inadequate machine guarding are
of concern due to their potential severity. Plastics processing
machines are complex pieces of equipment that
require guards to protect employees from nip points,
numerous moving parts, and exposure to high voltage and
high temperature. Serious injuries including fatalities,
amputations, avulsions, burns, cuts, and bruises can occur
during operation. Such injuries may result from guards
that are improperly designed, missing, improperly
installed, removed, or bypassed. The machine manufactures
that I visited, all had the proper guarding on their
machinery. Many used fencing and electronic photocells to
protect the point of operation and their machine guards
were built with interlocks that prevented the worker from
by-passing the interlock. As for meeting OSHA lockout
and tagout requirements, all of the machines that I looked
at met the standard.
Remember when you are designing and building guards
for machines that the guard or guarding device must withstand
the impact of the cutter coming loose or breaking or
the part breaking and striking the guard. I must also be
honest that when I did ask that very important question of
whether the clear plastic shield could hold the cutter if it
broke or if the guarding device was made of plexiglass or
polycarbonae most of the sales force could not answer my
question. This is not good or bad but it is my message
back to those who I visited to ensure that your sales force
can answer the OSHA questions that would be asked if
they visited the buyers place of employment. We offer certified
machine guarding training and this training can be
conducted at your location and it can increase your sales
if your sales professionals understand these very important
safety standards.
Thanks for reading our magazine articles, as Safety,
Health and Environmental Professionals the safety of our
workers should always be at the top of our list. Never use
a machine for anything other than what it was built to do
and please ensure that your machines are built to the
ANSI or CSA or other standards for that type of machine.
Machine safeguarding and lockout and tagout is extremely
important, have you heard about the Bumble Bee Tuna
accident? Well the State of California CAL/OSHA is prosecuting
the General Manager and their Safety Manager
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bumble-bee-foods-
2-managers-charged-death-man-cooked-tuna-n349641 could this accident have been prevented? Yes it
could have. How do I know? Ask me and I will tell you. In
this case the machine manufacturer is being sued for not
properly guarding their machine. Lets take safety seriously.
For more information, click on the author biography at the top of the page.
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