OSHA General Industry · Part 5: Lockout/Tagout, Materials Handling and Machine Guarding
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5.3 Machinery and Machine Guarding
Any machine part, function or process that may cause injury must be safeguarded. Safeguards protect workers from needless and preventable injury.
Three areas that need safeguarding
- The point of operation. Where the work is done on the material: cutting, shaping, boring or forming.
- Power transmission apparatus. Everything that carries energy to the working part: flywheels, pulleys, belts, connecting rods, couplings, cams, spindles, chains, cranks and gears.
- Other moving parts. All parts that move while the machine works: reciprocating, rotating and traversing parts, feed mechanisms and auxiliary parts.
What a safeguard must do
| Requirement | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Prevent contact | Keep hands, arms, other body parts and clothing away from moving parts. |
| Be secure | A guard that can be easily removed or defeated is no safeguard. |
| Protect from falling objects | Nothing can fall into the moving parts. |
| Create no new hazard | No shear points, jagged edges or rough surfaces. |
| Create no interference | If the guard slows the job it will soon be ignored. |
| Allow safe lubrication | Where possible, lubricate without removing the guard. |
Even the best system is of no use if workers do not know how to use it and why. Detailed training is an essential part of safeguarding.
Terms you may meet
A nip point is a place where loose clothing or body parts can be caught and squeezed between rotating parts. A point of operation is where the movement of the machine meets the work. A treadle is a foot lever. Non-kickback fingers, or dogs, hold material in place on circular saws.
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