Back in the 90s, I worked as both a MIOSHA Safety Compliance Officer and a MIOSHA Safety Consultant in Western Michigan. My training attending machine guarding classes at the OSHA Institute did not prepare me for what I would find out in the field: a complete lack of appreciation for and ignorance of the procedures for safeguarding mechanical power presses. Based on my experiences, it seems that combining the words "power press" and "guarding" is a thought that just doesn't occur to managers, supervisors and workers in many manufacturing plants. Let me explain.

The OSHA Requirements

I have been in firms that had no press machine guarding at all. Some of the excuses I've heard:

• "I didn't know guarding was required";
• "It came that way" or "I bought it that way";
• "The last MIOSHA inspector didn't say anything about this";
• "I didn't know the requirements"; and
• "I can't afford to guard it."

In the U.S., the rules are clear. The OSHA standard states:

"It shall be the responsibility of the employer to provide and insure the usage of "point of operation guards" or properly applied and adjusted point of operation devices on every operation performed on a mechanical power press." [29 CFR 1910.217 (c)(1)(i)].

So now you know the requirements: Guards are mandatory and it's the employer's responsibility to provide them and ensure their usage.

Selecting the Right Guard

Now that that's cleared up, let's look at the types of mechanical power presses and the guards they require.

There are two types of mechanical power presses:

1. Full-revolution; and
2. Part-revolution

(Hydraulic presses are covered under different guidelines.)

The Full-Revolution Press

When cycled (tripped), a full-revolution (full-rev) press (see diagram) cannot be disengaged until the crankshaft makes a complete rotation and the press slide returns to the top. There is no stopping the cycle once tripped; so light curtains or E-Stops are useless. The press stops by mechanical means through the use of a pin (called a "dog") on the flywheel shaft. Thus, when the press is tripped, the pin is pulled from a keyhole allowing the press flywheel to rotate 360 degrees until the pin drops back into the keyhole after one revolution, which mechanically stops the press.

The only types of devices or guarding acceptable for full-revolution presses are:

• Full-barrier guarding (barrier guards surrounding the press point of operation (POO) area);
• Physical restraints; and
• Pullback devices, whereby the operator's hands are mechanically pulled back away from the POO when the press is cycled.

Conclusion

Next week, we'll look at the guarding required for part-revolution presses.

SURVIVOR PROFILE

Candace Carnahan Raises Safety Awareness among Youth

By Lyonel Doherty

"In that 25 minutes I endured the most horrible pain that I had ever experienced in my entire life," Candace Carnahan recalls.

She made a critical mistake by taking a shortcut over a conveyor belt at a New Brunswick paper mill on Aug. 11, 1999. She didn't think it was a big deal; the shortcut was frequently used by other mill workers, even supervisors.

When Candace put her foot down, it was the wrong place at the wrong time. She got caught in a pinchpoint and landed on the conveyor, which pulled her foot into a small opening.

A fellow worker heard her screams and stopped the belt in time to save her life. But her foot was so badly mangled it had to be amputated. According to Candace, the conveyor was missing a guard that could have prevented the injury.

But instead of feeling angry or sorry for herself, Candace developed a new appreciation for life and wanted to harness that energy to help improve workplace safety for young people. "I never realized how many youth are put in compromising situations (at work)."

Candace says young workers make too many dangerous assumptions that can get them killed. For example, many think they already know about safety or assume their employers will keep them safe.

Now Candace is the director of employer recruitment for the "Passport to Safety" program in Toronto, Ontario. The program is a national online challenge safety test for youth. It offers certification that verifies youth have a basic understanding of what they need to know to protect themselves from workplace injuries.

Here's more information about Candace Carnahan and the "Passport to Safety" program.

SAFETY TIP OF THE WEEK
Conveyor Safety

By Lyonel Doherty

Here are five quick conveyor tips to share with your workers:

1. Always ensure you lock out a conveyor before maintenance or repair.
2. Never ride or step over a conveyor under any circumstances.
3. Tuck in loose clothing and restrain long hair when working around conveyors.
4. Guards are there for a reason. Don't remove or alter them.
5. Ensure that an emergency control switch is located next to the conveyor.

Story Tools:  E-mail this to a friend  Print This Post Top