FACTS

1. Amputations, result from the absence or misuse of machine guarding.

2. The lack, inadequacy, or misuse of machine guards can result in lacerations, crushing injuries and abrasions. Inadequate machine guarding results in deaths every year.

3.      Thousands of workers across the country are injured each year by the machines they use every day. Lack of machine guarding is reported to be the second most frequent safety violation today.

4. Guards are:

Fixed guards, adjustable guards, self-adjusting guards, drive train guards, perimeter guards, drop probe devices, interlock devices, restrain and pullback devices, adjustment, inspection.

5. Workers who operate machinery need technical safety training for each machine they use. This training must be delivered by somebody who is qualified to operate and understands the hazards associated with the machine.

6. Four types of machine guards are: fixed (permanently attached to machinery); interlocked (guards which, when opened or removed, automatically stop machine operation); adjustable (to handle different material sizes) and self-adjusting (which open only enough to let material in while keeping the rest of the point of operation, such as a rotating saw blade, covered).

7. Three types of dangerous moving parts requiring guarding are points of operation (the point where the machine performs work such as cutting, shaping, or drilling); power transmission components (such as flywheels, pulleys, shafts, or chains); and other parts which are in motion when a machine is operating.

STATS

• Nearly 50 percent of work-related amputations occur in manufacturing plants. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
• Six injuries associated with moving machine parts are bruising, lacerations, amputations, crushed or broken bones, burns, and electrical shocks.
• Three things that can lead to worker entanglement with machinery are loose clothing, long hair, and jewelry.
• About 20 % of worker fatalities in the United States are caused by contact with equipment or entanglement in running machinery. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)