Safety Tip of the Week - Machine Guarding

Never remove a machine guard without the proper lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures in place.
Never pry, bend, or manipulate a machine guard.
Never use any equipment with damaged or missing machine guards.
Never attempt to bypass or poke tools or objects into machine guards.
Report any damaged or missing machine guards, and isolate the area with warning labels or caution tape until resolved.
ALWAYS completely reinstall or reapply the machine guard before removing LOTO conditions and returning the machine to operation.

Types of mechanical motion that must be guarded:

Pinch Points: Points at which it is possible to be caught between moving parts or between moving and stationary parts of a piece of equipment.
Rotating: Circular motion of shafts with a protrusion can grip clothing or pull body parts into the point of operation.
Reciprocating: Back-and-forth or up-and-down motion that may trap/strike an employee between a moving object and a fixed object.
Traversing: Movement in straight, continuous line that may strike or catch an employee in a pinch or shear point between a moving and fixed object.
Cutting: Action of sawing, boring, drilling, milling, and slicing.
Punching: Action resulting when a machine moves a slide (ram) to stamp a sheet of metal or other material.
Shearing: Movement of a powered slide or knife during metal trimming or paper cutting.

Bending: Action occurring when power is applied to a slide to draw or form metal or other material.