Machines in this category consist of:
- Manual mills
- Manual lathes
- Radial arm drills
- Drill presses
- Shop presses
- Bench grinders and buffers
- Disc and belt sanders
- Vertical and horizontal bandsaws
- Plate rollers
- Surface grinders
- Shears
One of the reasons for this is based on the experience level of operators, which are considered machinists or tool and die makers. However, OSHA doesn’t discriminate against skill level when it comes to safety. Just because their experience level and focus are greater than traditional operators and haven’t been hurt yet, doesn’t mean they are safe and free from exposure to hazards.
Understanding the frustrations from the perspective of the skilled personnel, the experience level, the type of machinery, and level of manual interaction, is factored into the type of machine guards and shields are required for common machine tool equipment.
Hazards associated with these machines consist of:
- Cuts or lacerations from drill bits, endmills, or saw blades
- Entanglements from spindles or rotating shafts
- Wrap points from the drill chuck
- Crush points from rollers
- Shear points from shear press blades
- Pinch points from the head of the saw
- Burns or abrasions from grinders, sanders, and buffers
- Trap points and ejected part impact hazards from shop press
To mitigate these potential hazards, user-friendly machine guards and shields have been developed for these machines. The designs factor in articulating arms for adjustability based on material and tooling sizes, clear polycarbonate panel for easy viewing, a safety switch to ensure shield is in place to prevent flying chips or reach in to tooling, and hi-vis safety orange or safety yellow powder coated.
To learn more about the safety regulations and standards for this, go to…
- https://blog.ansi.org/ansi-b11-0-2023-safety-of-machinery/
- https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.212
For a look at guarding for your specific set of equipment, go to https://powersafeautomation.com/machine-guards-and-shields. Here you will find the guards and shields needed for your machines, which can be purchased along with installation services for a proper integration and safety upgrade.
