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Have You Really Trained Your Machine Operators (Jul/Aug-24)
Eye Safety & Safety Glasses (Jan/Feb-24)
Protecting Employees When Performing Machine Operations (Nov/Dec-23)
Protecting Students from Machine Hazards (Jul/Aug-23)
Electrical Safety (May/Jun-23)
Machine Guarding (Jan/Feb-23)
Have We Learned Anything About Safety Over the Last Fifty Years? (Nov/Dec-22)
OSHA Annouces 2021 Top 10 Frequently Cited Standards (Sep/Oct-22)
Have You Conducted Your Periodic Lockout & Tagout Audit? (Jan/Feb-22)
Workplace Violence (Jul/Aug-21)
Do You or Your Supervisors Really Care About Worker Safety? (May/Jun-21)
Creating A Safety Culture (Nov/Dec-20)
Before You Purchase New Machinery (Sep/Oct-20)
Do You or Your Supervisors Really Care About Worker Safety? (May/Jun-20)
OSHA Issues Interim Guidance to Help Prevent Worker Exposure to Coronavirus (COVID-19) (Mar/Apr-20)
Have You Recently Conducted Your Required Safety & Health Program Audits? (Nov/Dec-19)
Does OSHA Cite Employers Equally? (May/Jun-19)
Are You Ready For The New Year? (Mar/Apr-19)
Creating a Safety Culture Means Staying Informed (Nov/Dec-18)
Safe Lifting Techniques (Sep/Oct-18)
Are Your Machines Safe to Operate? (Jul/Aug-18)
Do You Know How Old Your Tires Really Are? (Jan/Feb-18)
Risk Assessment & Premise Liability Insurance (Nov/Dec-17)
Forklift Safety – You Can Save A Life Today (Sep/Oct-17)
Protect Your Employees from Heat Stress Related Injuries (Jul/Aug-17)
Lockout-Tagout from a Manager’s Perspective (May/Jun-17)
Do Your Employees Really Know How to Use Personal Protective Equipment? (Mar/Apr-17)
OSHA & Lockout/Tagout (Nov/Dec-16)
OSHA Increases Their Penalties Towards Employers (Jul/Aug-16)
Do You Know What Your Experience Modification Rate Is? (May/Jun-16)
Machine Safety (Sep/Oct-15)
Lockout, Tagout & Tryout – Are You in Compliance? (Jul/Aug-15)
Forklift Safety Practices (May/Jun-15)
Using the Right Power Saw to Cut Plastic Materials (Mar/Apr-15)
OSHA & Machine Safeguarding (Jan/Feb-15)
Ergonomics (Sep/Oct-14)
Respiratory Protection . . . Does Your Program Protect? (May/Jun-14)
First Aid Program (Mar/Apr-14)
Working with Composite Materials Safely and Preventing Dermatitis (Jan/Feb-14)
Preventing Winter Slips, Trips and Falls (Nov/Dec-13)
The Globally Harmonized System for Hazard Communication – Are You Ready For It? (Sep/Oct-13)
Safety & New Employee Orientation (Jul/Aug-13)
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Safety (May/Jun-13)
Posting of OSHA Notices (Jan/Feb-13)
Staying Safe This Winter (Nov/Dec-12)
Personal Protection - Storage, Maintenance and Care (Sep/Oct-12)
Machine Safeguarding (Jul/Aug-12)
Is Your Lockout & Tagout Program Working? (May/Jun-12)
Getting Familiar with OSHA (Mar/Apr-12)
Is Your Piping Systems Properly Marked? (Jan/Feb-12)
Accident Prevention, Does Your Company Have An Effective Program? (Nov/Dec-11)
Defining FR – Flame Resistant Fabrics (Jul/Aug-11)
OSHA's Flammable & Combustible Liquids (May/Jun-11)
Safety & Health Program Check-up (Jan/Feb-11)
OSHA Is My Friend (Nov/Dec-10)
OSHA Standard for Control of Hazardous Energy Sources? (Sep/Oct-10)
Lockout/Tagout Program (Jul/Aug-10)
Safe Handling of Compressed Gas Cylinders (May/Jun-10)
What You Should Know about OSHA and Plastic Working Machinery (Mar/Apr-10)
Fasten Those Forklift Seat Belts (Jan/Feb-10)
My Back Hurts (Nov/Dec-09)
Fall Protection Program (Sep/Oct-09)
Accident Prevention & Investigation (Jul/Aug-09)
OSHA & Machine Safeguarding (May/Jun-09)
Carbon Monoxide Hazards (Mar/Apr-09)
OSHA Electrical Safety and Training (Jan/Feb-09)
Free Forklift ANSI Standards (Nov/Dec-08)
Worksite Fire Emergencies (Sep/Oct-08)
Machine Safety (Jul/Aug-08)
Ladder Safety (May/Jun-08)
Is Your Company on OSHA's Hit List?
OSHA Notifies Workplaces with High Injury and Illness Rates (Mar/Apr-08)
Safety Means . . . Never Having to Say You're Sorry (Jan/Feb-08)
Flammables and Combustible Liquids (Nov/Dec-07)
Designing-In Safety NOT Retrofitting Safety (Sep/Oct-07)
Back Safety and Lifting (Jul/Aug-07)
Machine Guarding (May/Jun-07)
Your Hearing Keep it for a Lifetime (Mar/Apr-07)
Light Up the Holidays the Safe Way (Nov/Dec-06)
Would You Risk Your Employee's Life? (Sep/Oct-06)
How to Control Workers' Compensation Costs (Jul/Aug-06)
Compliance with 70E Electrical Standards (May/Jun-06)
OSHA Is on the Move (Mar/Apr-06)
Workplace Violence (Jan/Feb-06)
The Aging Workforce (Nov/Dec-05)
The Safety Paradox (Sep/Oct-05)
Machine Guarding (Jul/Aug-05)
Effective Risk Management (May/Jun-05)
Safety Is Everyone's Business (Mar/Apr-05)
New Year's Resolution Safety (Jan/Feb-05)
Safe Driving (Nov/Dec-04)
Terror In The Skies Revisited (Sep/Oct-04)
How They Got Hurt (Jul/Aug-04)
In-Plant Air Monitoring & Analysis (May/Jun-04)
Safety on the Job and Complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act (Mar/Apr-04)
Link to Article Archive (Jan/Feb-04)
A Supervisor's Duty (Nov/Dec-03)
Machine Safety – Are Your Machines Safe to Operate? (Sep/Oct-03)
Summer is Here (Jul/Aug-03)
Working Safely On Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts) (May/Jun-03)
Does Your Safety and Health Workplace Program Contain All of These Elements? (Mar/Apr-03)
Methylene Chloride (Jan/Feb-03)
Safety Signs & Labels - Does Your Facility Comply? (Nov/Dec-02)
Indoor Air Quality (Sep/Oct-02)
When OSHA Arrives (Jul/Aug-02)
Facts About the Occupation Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) (May/Jun-02)
Workplace Fire Safety (Mar/Apr-02)
OSHA 300 Form (Jan/Feb-02)
Preparing for Disaster (Nov/Dec-01)
How Much is a Life Worth? (Sep/Oct-01)
Material Handling Programs (Jul/Aug-01)
It's Up To You To Protect Your Skin (May/Jun-01)
When You’ve Been Handed the Responsibility for Safety (Mar/Apr-01)
A Fresh Look at Machine Safeguarding (Jan/Feb-01)
Safe Work Habits (Nov/Dec-00)
The Importance of Material Safety Data Sheets (Sep/Oct-00)
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (Jul/Aug-00)
Lockout/Tagout Program (May/Jun-00)
OSHA Violations, Citations and Penalties for 1998 (Mar/Apr-00)
Erogonomics and Machinery Safeguarding (Jan/Feb-00)
General Machine Principles (Nov/Dec-99)
SAFETY SOLUTIONS
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SAFETY SOLUTIONS: Machine Safety

The trade show season is well under way and many readers will be attending a variety of shows across the country searching for new machinery.

Machine guarding and related machinery violations consistently rank among the top 10 of OSHA citations issued. Workers who operate and maintain machinery suffer approximately 18,000 amputations, lacerations, crushing injuries, abrasions and over 800 deaths per year.

In one example, a manufacturer of industrial screening media faces an additional $75,000 in fines from the OSHA for failing to correct machine guarding hazards cited during a previous OSHA inspection.

This particular company was cited in June 2007 for inadequate guarding of moving machine parts and other hazards at its manufacturing plant. The company agreed to correct all cited hazards and paid a fine of $4,725. However, an OSHA follow-up inspection in February 2008 found that three press brakes and eight revolving rollers remained unprotected, leaving employees exposed to potential laceration, amputation and crushing injuries. As a result, OSHA issued two failure to abate citations, with $75,000 in proposed fines. OSHA issues a failure to abate citation when an employer does not correct a cited violation by an established date. OSHA may impose a penalty of up to $7,000 per day for each violation.

If you have knowledge that a hazard exists and you do not correct it, OSHA could issue a Willful Violation. OSHA defines a Willful Violation as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference. “The purpose of machine guarding is to prevent any part of an employee’s body from coming in contact with a machine’s moving parts.”

Machine Guarding FAQs

  • Q: Why did the manufacturer build it that way?
    A: Many manufacturers today are not trained in all the regulations that apply to machinery. Many manufacturers of machinery do not follow American National Standards Institute (ANSI) consensus standards or National Electrical Codes (NEC).

  • Q: Why did the purchasing department buy it that way?
    A: The success of a machine-guarding program is in the heart of good bid specifications. Many people who purchase equipment do not know the regulations themselves and usually there is no program in place to inspect the machinery prior to having it shipped to the location. Then it is too late.

  • Q: Why didn’t the facility or maintenance group inspect the machine before installing it, or why wasn’t it caught during routine maintenance?
    A: Many companies do not have the owners/operators manuals and thus may not have seen that the point of operation guard is usually considered an accessory to the machine.

  • Q: Didn’t the safety professional or the person responsible for ensuring that the machine met the intent of the standards prior to purchasing the machine see the potential problems ahead of time?
    A: Many do not have the expertise in machine safety or in conducting risk assessments and just sign off on the documents without trying to contact anyone to ensure that it meets the standards. A good example of this statement is the purchasing of a small piece of machinery that does not have power outage protection.

  • Q: The best one is this statement, “Well, OSHA has been or was here and they did not cite the machine”.
    A: Believe it or not, OSHA inspectors may not possess the required expertise to inspect the machine. Many inspectors have only received a one week course in machine safeguarding and they, too, walk by hazards allowing some poor operator to be completely exposed to a serious injury. In today’s world of potential litigation, OSHA inspectors can and have been sued for not bringing the hazard to the employer’s attention if an employee was injured because of this inattention to detail.

To find out more about what OSHA requires or how they interpret an OSHA machine guarding standard visit their website at www.OSHA.gov, then research the documents located in the “Directive” section. OSHA has also established a training program on this subject and it can be found in the “E-tools” section of the site.

Machine safeguarding is a paramount issue for employers, employees and home craftspeople. Think SAFETY the next time you operate powered machinery. If you have machine guarding questions or if I can be of assistance to you, please feel free to contact me.

Until my next article, please be safe.

As an additional resource,
the following websites
provide a wealth of information
on safety-related
topics and programs.

Occupational Safety & Health
Administration
www.osha.gov

National Institute for Occupational
Safety & Health
www.cdc.gov/niosh

Canadian Center for Occupational
Health & Safety
www.ccohs.ca

National Safety Council
www.nsc.org

American Society of Safety Engineers
www.asse.org

For more information, click on the author biography at the top of the page.

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