While the invention of equipment and machinery has revolutionized production, it has also introduced new and severe hazards for employees. OSHA reports that machine-related hazards are a leading cause of workplace injuries, including devastating amputations. In fact, thousands of workers suffer amputations and other severe injuries each year due to unguarded machinery and improper work procedures. Ensuring that machinery is properly guarded is not just a matter of compliance, but a critical step in protecting employees from life-altering harm.
The OSHA General Requirements for All Machines standard (29 CFR 1910.212) sets a clear mandate for employers: one or more methods of machine guarding must be provided to protect the operator and other employees from hazards. The standard requires guarding against a variety of dangerous areas, including the point of operation—where the machine performs its work—and other hazards like rotating parts, in-running nip points, and flying chips and sparks.
OSHA identifies several types of hazardous mechanical motions that must be guarded against. These include rotating parts, such as shafts, collars, and couplings, that can easily catch clothing or hair; reciprocating motions, where back-and-forth or up-and-down movement can crush a worker between a moving and a stationary part; and transversing motions, where a part moving in a straight, continuous line can create a shear point. Additionally, actions like cutting, punching, shearing, and bending all create hazards that require proper safeguarding.
