Tips for Managing Safety in Machine Operation Areas

When OSHA inspected the production area in a manufacturing plant, the compliance officer cited the company for 36 violations. Violations ranged from unguarded machines to electrical hazards. On appeal, the Review Commission upheld all of the violations.

That’s the trouble with areas where machinery is operated. The wide variety of potential hazards can make safety a challenging goal.

Design for Safety

Machine operation areas should be designed for safety. For example:

• Machines should be equipped with all the necessary safeguards.
• The area should be well lit so workers can see what they’re doing and where they’re going.
• There should be adequate space between machines and materials and finished products.
• Walkways should be clearly marked with yellow lines to separate them from machine work areas.
• Floors should be made of, or coated with, a nonslip material.
• There should be a good general ventilation system and a local exhaust system for any processes that produce dusts, mists, fumes, or vapors.

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Insist on a Clean Work Area

A well-maintained, orderly production area is another essential. Look around the machine operation areas in your facility. What do you see?

• Are floors wet, dirty, or cluttered with tripping hazards?
• Are tools, materials, and other items left lying around when they ought to be put away after use?
• Is there trash and debris everywhere?
• Are carts or pallet jacks with materials or finished products blocking walkways?

If you don’t see reasonably neat, clean work areas, you might be looking at an accident waiting to happen.

Maintain Proper Storage

Along with good housekeeping comes proper storage of raw materials and finished products.

Make sure employees do:

• Stack materials to be processed on a secure base.
• Place heavy objects on the bottom of the stack.
• Use ladders to reach stored items overhead.
• Wear gloves when handling materials to avoid cuts and scrapes.
• Secure stored items so that they can’t topple over on someone’s head or fall to the ground and get damaged.

Make sure employees don’t:

• Store items too close to machinery.
• Stack items so high that they could topple over or block fire sprinkler heads.
• Pile materials too close to sources of heat or electricity.
• Store items so that they block or stick out into walkways.
• Lift incorrectly or try to lift and carry objects that are too heavy to handle alone.

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Emphasize Safeguards and Lockout

Machine guarding violations generally hit OSHA’s Top 10 list every year. To avoid citations and keep workers safe, make sure machine operators understand the reason for, and operation of, machine guards and safety devices. No machine should ever be operated without properly functioning safeguards.

An effective lockout/tagout program is another essential safety component for machine operation areas. Employees authorized to repair and maintain machinery should be specially trained and certified in lockout/tagout procedures.

But you can’t stop there. All employees who work in machine operation areas should receive lockout/tagout training to be sure they understand the procedure, OSHA requirements, and your rules—even if they don’t actually perform lockout/tagout.

Remember the company we mentioned at the beginning of this article? Among the 36 violations was a lockout/tagout citation. The company was quick to explain on appeal that they trained their maintenance personnel in lockout/tagout. But the Review Commission upheld the violation anyway because non-maintenance employees affected by lockout/tagout were not trained about the program.

Tomorrow, we’ll continue our look at machine area safety management and talk about training requirements, PPE, and preparing for emergencies.

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