Machine Guarding and Equipment Safety

Heavy machinery and equipment are used daily in the construction industry, helping with challenging jobs and improving productivity. However, those very machines that help construction workers do their jobs can also cause injuries when they're not used properly. That's where machine guards step in. They reduce the risk of accidents due to mechanical failure, human error, electrical failure, or poor design.
In this blog, we'll delve into how machine guards work and how they can help prevent workplace injuries to keep you and your employees safe.
What Are Machine Guards?
Machine guards are physical barriers or safety measures that are designed to keep workers away from dangerous machine parts. They protect machine workers by guarding the point of operation.
When machine operation or inadvertent contact injures the operator or those nearby, the hazards must be minimized or regulated. That’s where machine guards come in. These restraints are essential in reducing the risk of industrial accidents, injuries, and fatalities. Moving machine parts can cause severe injuries, such as crushed fingers or hands, amputations, burns, or blindness.
What Does OSHA Say About Machine Guards?
To prevent industrial injuries, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has imposed strict regulations for machine guarding.
OSHA standards mandate that all moving machinery, including gears, pulleys, belts, and chains, must be guarded to prevent accidental contact with the operator or other personnel. These restraints must be designed, installed, and maintained to prevent inadvertent contact with the operator or other personnel. The goal is to ensure the safety of the operator and other personnel in the region from injury.
Guarding restraints must undergo routine inspections to ensure their effectiveness. These restraints must also prevent objects from entering the guarded area and colliding with the machinery. Inspections ensure they are free of flaws and in working order.
In addition, OSHA requires guarding restraints to have a minimum clearance. The clearance must accommodate any possible movement. Companies must also provide training to all employees operating machinery, covering potential hazards, safe operation, proper restraint operations, and routine inspection. Failure to comply could lead to injury or even death, and employers may face severe fines and penalties.
What Are Machine Guard Benefits?
Machine guards are crucial for worker’s safety, especially in industrial settings. They prevent serious injuries and reduce the likelihood of machine-related accidents, ensuring a safer work environment. Here are a few more benefits of machine guards in the workplace:
- Physical Protection - Machine guarding restricts operators from entering danger zones, reducing the risk of crushing injuries, amputations, and other physical harm. According to OSHA, there are 18,000 incidents of amputations, lacerations, crushing injuries, abrasions, and over 800 deaths annually.
- Regulation Compliance - Employers are legally required to install machine guarding restraints to protect their employees, and noncompliance with OSHA requirements can lead to penalties, higher insurance costs, and decreased productivity. Noncompliance can result in higher costs.
- Increased Productivity - Machine guarding measures reduce accident and injury risks, enhancing productivity by ensuring workers are safe from machinery hazards. This reduces errors and work-related stress, leading to increased efficiency and overall productivity.
- Accidental Cost - An accident might result in medical bills, workers' compensation claims, and missed production. Implementing these constraints minimizes the probability of accidents, which reduces the employer's accident costs.
Even if you think you can work faster without it, there's never a legitimate excuse to remove a guard from a machine you're using. Guards are there to keep you safe!
Machine Guarding Safety Training
For employees who work with heavy machinery or in any industrial setting, training is necessary to ensure the highest level of safety for everyone on the job site. Workers who take this training will learn how to safeguard themselves from moving equipment.
Workers will be able to effectively apply the OSHA Machine Guarding requirements to their daily job operations after completing this training. The safety of you and your team depends on this certification program. Don’t wait; head to our website to get started today!