Guard Against Workplace Amputations

The two primary methods used to safeguard machines are guards and safeguarding devices.

• Guards provide physical barriers that prevent access to danger areas.
• Safeguarding devices either prevent or detect operator contact with the point of operation or stop potentially hazardous machine motion if any part of an individual’s body is within the hazardous portion of the machine.

Both types of safeguards need to be properly designed, constructed, installed, used and maintained in good operating condition to ensure employee protection.

Criteria for Machine Safeguarding

OSHA’s Machinery and Machine Guarding standard (29 CFR 1910.211-219) requires machines to be equipped with appropriate safeguards whenever there is an amputation danger. Machine safeguarding must:

• Prevent employee contact with the hazard area during machine operation
• Avoid creating additional hazards
• Be secure, tamper-resistant, and durable
• Avoid interfering with normal operation of the machine
• Allow for safe lubrication and maintenance

In a future Advisor, we’ll talk about safety devices, such as presence-sensing devices and trip controls, but today, we’re going to focus on machine guards.

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The four main types of machine guards are fixed, adjustable, self-adjusting, and interlocked.

In the chart below, OSHA defines each type of guard and highlights its advantages and limitations.

Types of Machine Guards
Type	Method of Safeguarding	Advantages	Limitations
Fixed	Barrier that allows for stock feeding but does not permit operator to reach the danger area.	+ Can be constructed to suit many applications. + Permanently encloses the point of operation or hazard area. + Provides protection against machine repeat. + Allows simple, in-plant construction, with minimal maintenance	x Sometimes not practical for changing production runs involving different size stock or feeding methods. x Machine adjustment and repair often require guard removal. x Other means of protecting maintenance personnel often required (lockout/tagout).
Adjustable	Barrier that adjusts for a variety of production operations.	+ Can be constructed to suit many applications. + Can be adjusted to admit varying stock sizes.	x May require frequent maintenance or adjustment. x Operator may make guard ineffective.
Self-Adjusting	Barrier that moves according to the size of the stock entering point of operation. Guard is in place when machine is at rest and pushes away when stock enters the point of operation.	+ Off-the-shelf guards are often commercially available.	x Does not provide maximum protection. x May require frequent maintenance and adjustment.
Interlocking	Shuts off or disengages power and prevents machine start-up when guard is open. Should allow for inching of machine.	+ Allows access for some minor servicing work, in accordance with the lockout/tagout exception, without time-consuming removal of fixed guards.	x May require periodic maintenance or adjustment. x Movable sections cannot be used for manual feeding. x Some designs may be easy to defeat. x Interlock control circuitry may not be used for all maintenance and servicing work.

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Ready-Made Checklists

BLR’s Safety Audit Checklists provides a comprehensive section on machine guarding. In this section, you get a 20-point compliance checklist highlighting key provisions of OSHA’s machine guarding standard and a second checklist with important machine guarding information that can be circulated to supervisors and posted for employees.

Furthermore, other sections in Safety Audit Checklists include information on specific types of machinery, such as power presses and abrasive wheel grinders, highlighting safety and guarding information for each type of equipment.  Each of these sections, of course, also provides comprehensive compliance and general safety checklists.

All told, this best-selling program provides you with more than 300 separate safety checklists keyed to three main criteria:

• OSHA compliance checklists, built right from the government standards in such key areas as HazCom, lockout/tagout, electrical safety, and many more.
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• Safety management checklists that monitor the administrative procedures you need to have for topics such as OSHA 300 Log maintenance, training program scheduling and recording, and OSHA-required employee notifications. 

Make as many copies as you need for all your supervisors and managers, and distribute. What’s more, the entire program is updated annually. And the cost averages only about $1 per checklist.

If this method of ensuring a safer, more OSHA-compliant workplace interests you, we’ll be happy to make Safety Audit Checklists available for a no-cost, no-obligation, 30-day evaluation in your office. Just let us know, and we’ll be pleased to arrange it.

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