Machine Safeguarding in Plastic Manufacturing
Severed limbs, crushed bones, ripped skin… Failure to practice machine safeguarding can have gory consequences. Since we aren’t a big fan of gory horror scenes in real life, we took some time this week to teach on the importance of machine safeguarding in plastic manufacturing.
Why Machine Safeguarding?
Without properly guarding machinery, operators or nearby individuals, can be crushed or drawn in by equipment, struck by moving parts, or hit by particles or flying debris. Understanding how machines work, and why it is important to be cautious is a big step in preventing workplace injury. Awareness and prevention are always the first steps to take in incident prevention.
What to Guard on a Machine?
Vital areas to guard machinery include potential nip points, rotating components, places that produce flying chips or sparks, belts or gears, and parts that impact or shear.
For more information regarding machine safeguarding at Nylacarb Corporation; or any other plastic manufacturing questions contact us today!
Machine Guarding Principles:
When guarding machinery here are some key principles to follow:
- Prevent contact between hazardous point and body or clothing articles.
- Secure guard to make sure it is not easily nudged or moved.
- Protect from other objects that may fall onto the machinery.
- Make sure guard doesn’t create any new or additional hazards.
- Make sure guard doesn’t interfere with the ease, comfort, or speed of the job the machinery is used for.
There are many different machine guarding solutions that all differ depending on the nature of the task and machinery they are guarding. Work with your company’s maintenance manager, or whoever installs your company’s guards, to determine which guard is most appropriate. Choosing the right guard for your machine is also an important aspect of machine safeguarding principles.
Our “see something, say something” policy encourages our employees to notify our team if they see a potential area of a machine that is missing a guard and causing a potential threat.
Jesse, our maintenance manager, taught this months machine safeguarding training. He is our on-site point of contact for securing guards. For any questions regarding our safety practices at Nylacarb give us a holler! Email safety@nylacarb.com.