Workers who operate and maintain machinery suffer approximately 18,000 amputations, lacerations, crushing injuries, abrasions, and over 800 deaths per year. During the period 1996-97, amputation injuries were the most costly worker claims by nature of injury, averaging $18,120 per claim. OSHA states that the purpose of machine guarding is to protect the machine operator and other employees in the work area from hazards created by ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips & sparks. Statistics reveal that three out of every ten lost-time 
injuries involve the hands and arms, and almost ten percent of all disabling injuries are caused by machinery (EHS Emory). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,two-thirds of all nonfatal workplace amputations reported in 1999 resulted from workers being caught in or compressed by equipment. More specifically, 44 percent of all nonfatal amputations resulted from workers being caught in running equipment or machinery, with 72 percent of these cases occurring in manufacturing.
According to the Environmental Health and Safety Office, at Emory University, guards should have the following characteristics:
1. Prevent contact: Safeguard must prevent hands, arms, or any other part of a worker's body from making contact with dangerous moving parts. A guard should not only prevent accidental contact but should prevent workers from intentionally bypassing the guard.
2. Be secure: The guard can't be easily removable. The guard should be of durable material and most should be bolted on.
3. Create no new hazards: The guards themselves should not create new hazards.
4. Create no interference: A good guard should allow the employee to work comfortably and efficiently.
4.Allow safe maintenance: Guards should be designed to allow minor maintenance on machines without removing the guards or being exposed to the hazard. If it has to be removed, lock-out procedures must be followed.
Although companies should place machine guarding as a priority; there are many that still aren't willing to invest in safety equipment to protect their workers. Just yesterday, OSHA proposed $79,000 in fines to Danbury, Conn., manufacturer for machine guarding and lockout/tagout hazards. OSHA's inspection found numerous instances of unguarded or inadequately guarded moving parts and switches on power presses and other
machinery. The absence of such guarding exposes employees to crushing, laceration and amputation injuries."The bulk of these citations address inadequate safeguards to prevent employees from being caught in the moving parts of machinery due to a lack of guarding against contact with those moving parts or the absence of procedures to prevent machines from unexpectedly starting up during servicing or maintenance," said Robert Kowalski, OSHA's area director in Bridgeport. Out of the 22 alleged offenses, 17 of them were considered serious citations by OSHA. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.
injuries involve the hands and arms, and almost ten percent of all disabling injuries are caused by machinery (EHS Emory). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,two-thirds of all nonfatal workplace amputations reported in 1999 resulted from workers being caught in or compressed by equipment. More specifically, 44 percent of all nonfatal amputations resulted from workers being caught in running equipment or machinery, with 72 percent of these cases occurring in manufacturing.According to the Environmental Health and Safety Office, at Emory University, guards should have the following characteristics:
1. Prevent contact: Safeguard must prevent hands, arms, or any other part of a worker's body from making contact with dangerous moving parts. A guard should not only prevent accidental contact but should prevent workers from intentionally bypassing the guard.
2. Be secure: The guard can't be easily removable. The guard should be of durable material and most should be bolted on.
3. Create no new hazards: The guards themselves should not create new hazards.
4. Create no interference: A good guard should allow the employee to work comfortably and efficiently.
4.Allow safe maintenance: Guards should be designed to allow minor maintenance on machines without removing the guards or being exposed to the hazard. If it has to be removed, lock-out procedures must be followed.
Although companies should place machine guarding as a priority; there are many that still aren't willing to invest in safety equipment to protect their workers. Just yesterday, OSHA proposed $79,000 in fines to Danbury, Conn., manufacturer for machine guarding and lockout/tagout hazards. OSHA's inspection found numerous instances of unguarded or inadequately guarded moving parts and switches on power presses and other
machinery. The absence of such guarding exposes employees to crushing, laceration and amputation injuries."The bulk of these citations address inadequate safeguards to prevent employees from being caught in the moving parts of machinery due to a lack of guarding against contact with those moving parts or the absence of procedures to prevent machines from unexpectedly starting up during servicing or maintenance," said Robert Kowalski, OSHA's area director in Bridgeport. Out of the 22 alleged offenses, 17 of them were considered serious citations by OSHA. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known. Sources:
"Safety Toolbox Training- Machine Guarding." Emory University Environmental Health and Safety Office, Apr. 2009. Web. 22 Sept. 2009.
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