Machine Guarding and Safety Devices: To The Point

Our jobs can be dangerous places. There are dangers lurking around us, even from places we least expect; we may have used a machine for years, but just one lapse in concentration can prove disastrous. Controlling these hazards and preventing injuries is the focus of this training lesson. You must be aware of hazards like pinch points, nip points, moving parts, and the points of operation of equipment when working with machinery. To protect workers from these hazards, a combination of fixed guarding, light curtains, interlock switches, and other similar safety devices should be utilized; this is what is known as a machine guarding program. This course explores machine guarding and the safe work practices you must follow to avoid accidents and injuries.

A machine operator must understand the unique hazards of any equipment they are operating; after all, they are the individuals closest to the potential harm. For example, the location where a machine’s actions perform work, including cutting, bending, drilling, and punching, is known as the point of operation. To get a body part caught in the point of operation could be fatal. This safety program teaches you safe operating procedures and good housekeeping for using these kinds of machines, as well as on various safety measures that must be in place to prevent harm.

While some type of machine guarding or safety device must be in place if a hazard cannot be controlled or eliminated by the design of the machine, some hazards cannot be fully guarded against. Therefore, you also need to understand the proper personal protective equipment, or PPE, to use in each situation. You will learn this here as well. Awareness and understanding of the dangers around you, and how to guard against them, is critical for your safety, as well as the safety of others. Utilize the materials presented here and lower the chance of injury around these potentially hazardous machines.

   This course is in the Video On Demand format, to read about Video On Demand features click here.

Employees who operate equipment or machinery

• Introduction
• Machine Operator Requirements
• The Point of Operation and Other Hazards
• Safe Operating Procedures and PPE
• Good Housekeeping
• Machine Guards
• Electrical Interlocks
• Presence-Sensing Devices
• Two-Hand Control Systems
• Conclusion

• Lockout / Tagout: Controlling Hazardous Energy
• Lockout Tagout for Authorized Workers
• Lockout Tagout for Affected Workers