Accident Prevention Through Equipment Guarding (1982)

[Music] with today's increasing need for minerals cold metal and nonmetal high speed complex machinery is playing a more important role introduced along the complexity and speed of the machinery are a variety of potential hazards one of the most effective ways to reduce or eliminate these hazards is true equipment guarding and increased awareness on the part of the workers it is physically impossible to completely guard every piece of machinery but where it is possible guards should be placed expose rotating parts such as gears wheels and shaft ends reciprocating arms and moving belts all create hazardous conditions if not effectively guarded [Music] [Music] more and more continuous operations are being introduced in our mining and milling industries long lines of machinery gathers transport and manipulate the product to its final shape but unfortunately most of these lines are not totally enclosed or guarded and it is with this type of machinery using multitudes of rollers gears and pulleys that many hazards are created your responsibility for protecting yourself from these dangers begins here in the locker-room know and obey all safety regulations concerning clothing you should not wear loose clothing tuck in pant legs or use leg bands tuck in shirt tails and button cuffs remove watches rings and other jewelry if your hair is long make sure it is contained under your safety hat or held in place by a net wear your safety hat and safety glasses [Music] you should never clean around conveyer pulleys and drive mechanisms while the conveyor is in motion [Music] we're unguarded conveyors with walkways are in operation they must be equipped with emergency stop devices or pull cords along the entire length of the conveyor nipping and pinching points are potential hazards that can cause accidents and accidents continue to take lives and cause painful injury head-tail and take up police should be guarded where there is danger from pinch points or running nip points guardrails are an important part of equipment guarding particularly on high places or whether is narrow or treacherous footing the man working on this stacker is in a dangerous situation made more dangerous by the fact that there is no guardrail his fall could have been serious a simple guardrail such as this one makes this a safer place to work mechanical power transmitting parts of machinery are also hazardous if left unguarded enclosure guards are effective protection against such hazards guards will help keep you from contacting the dangerous moving parts whenever you work with machines you must be skilled in your profession and also possess the safety mindedness and safety attitude needed to control the dangers of the machine guarding greatly reduces the possibility of human errors if the guard is really effective and eliminates the hazard completely then you will not have to be constantly looking for potential dangers guards must be effective but they should also be designed or modified to be as efficient as possible in this case simply putting a hole through the guard at the grease fittings allows the worker to perform his duties without removing the guard this simplifies what could be a time-consuming job and also makes a much safer operation we're high air or hydraulic pressures are being used there is a danger of flying parts or ruptured hoses therefore when using machinery such as this hydraulic press workers should be totally isolated from the work being performed a mesh guard fine enough to protect the operator yet does not restrict his vision enables him to perform his work with safety and efficiency and without fear unless it is a normal part of your job do not adjust or remove guards without direct permission from your supervisor this repairman is making a routine check of the conveyor system he notices some problem with the enfilade but to repair it the guard has to be removed he doesn't have the authorization to shut the line down so he reports the problem to his Foreman firstly the buck stops broke up the 19th up not to shut him down and okay put your locking tag on and get it checked on tag it off okay these steps are necessary because unauthorized removal of equipment guards and failure to lock out electrical switches have caused serious accidents even if the repair will take only a few minutes these safety procedures must be followed because it takes only a moment to have an accident always remember to replace the guard when the work is completed injury related accidents on machinery or in hazardous work areas can be reduced through the installation of guards [Music] guarding can remove your fear of getting too close too dangerous moving parts once this fear is removed you can concentrate on the operation at hand you then can work more efficiently and safely Machinery guards serve a dual purpose they not only protect the worker from the machine but they also protect the machine from the worker possible serious injury or damage has been avoided by this equipment guard your safety however involves more than eliminating or covering hazardous moving parts when you work around mechanical equipment or operate a piece of machinery you should never assume or take for granted that a guard will automatically protect you at all times loose or improperly maintained cards can be almost as much of a hazard as not having a machine guard at all repair and replacement of machine guards is important to a company's maintenance program and to a safe working environment for all personnel as part of his program the supervisors responsibility for inspection and maintenance includes constant checking of the condition of the guards enforcement of their use and prevention of tampering getting employees directly involved in equipment guarding is of great benefit to a company safety program employees should be consulted before guards are made or bought you may have valuable ideas as to where and what kind of guards are needed well-designed and carefully maintained guards will not only protect you from physical injury but will do much to assure you that your employer is interested in your health and safety and is sincere in his desire to prevent accidents [Music] [Music]