FACTS
- In addition to potentially life-altering amputations, the lack, inadequacy or misuse of machine guards can result in lacerations, crushing injuries and abrasions.
- Thousands of workers across the country are injured each year by the machines they use every day. The risk of accidents from machinery is so high, lack of machine guarding is reported to be the second most frequent safety violation today.
- Guards are: Fixed guards, adjustable guards, self-adjusting guards, drive train guards, perimeter guards, drop probe devices, interlock devices, restrain and pullback devices, adjustment, inspection.
- Three types of dangerous moving parts requiring guarding are points of operation (the point where the machine performs work such as cutting, shaping, or drilling); power transmission components (such as flywheels, pulleys, shafts or chains); and other parts which are in motion when a machine is operating.
- Four safety tips surrounding machinery are: never operate machinery before checking that guards are in place and functioning correctly; encourage workers to report defective or missing guards to a supervisor or manager immediately; never make adjustments to machinery unless you are qualified to do so; and have an authorized person shut down/release all forms of hazardous energy and lock out machinery before performing repairs or maintenance.
STATS
- Workers who operate and maintain machinery suffer approximately 18,000 injuries and over 800 deaths per year and machine safeguards are your first line of defense against injuries caused by moving machines.
- Machine guarding once again made OSHA’s top ten list of most-frequently violated standards for fiscal year 2019. Coming in at number eight, OSHA’s machine guarding standard.
- 212 was cited for violations 1,743 times in 2019, compared to 1,972 citations in 2018.
- There was an average of more than 11,000 amputations every year. Many times, the loss of a finger, hand or arm result from machinery operations, and often the lack of proper guarding, or inadequate guarding.
- In 2018, 87% of the total number of OSHA machine guarding violations were classified as “Serious,” meaning “one in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.”
- Nearly half of all work-related injuries involving mechanical power presses result in amputation, statistics compiled by OSHA show around 60% of amputations involve a worker’s fingers or arm getting caught or compressed by a press or other machinery such as a conveyer, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Nearly 50 % of work-related amputations occur in manufacturing plants. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
- About 20 % of worker fatalities in the United States are caused by contact with equipment or entanglement in running machinery. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)