IOSH MANAGING SAFELY

Preventing Accidents & Incidents in the Oil & Gas Sector

in partnership with
TOBY CLARK BSc FIOSH
AIEMA MCot Cert Ed

IOSH MANAGING SAFELY

Machinery Safety

MODULE 4

Mechanical Hazards
BS EN 292
Crushing caused when part of the body is caught between
either two moving parts of machinery or a moving part and a
stationary object
Shearing When two or more machine parts move
towards/past one another a trap is created. Can result in a
crush injury or amputation e.g. power presses, guillotines,
scissor lifts
Cutting/severing Saw blades, knives and even rough edges,
especially when moving at high speed. Can result in serious
cuts or amputation e.g. saws, slicing machines, abrasive
cutting discs

Examples of in-running nips

Guarding arrangements for drilling machines

Working at a guillotine risk of

crushing & amputation of fingers

Clear plastic fixed guarding at a milling machine

Protection against Machinery

Hazards
Photoelectrical Safety Systems
Operate on the principal of the detection of
an obstruction in the path taken by a beam
or beams of light, a curtain or light or any
combination of these necessary to provide
the required safeguard
The light may be visible or invisible,
continuous or modulated

Proximity
sensor

Light curtains at
a weaving
machine

Rotating
light curtain
Rotating light curtain

Testing the integrity of a light curtain

Power press guarding

Mechanical Hazards
Entanglement caused by revolving parts of
machine. Risk increased by loose clothing,
jewellery, long hair etc. E.g. couplings, drill
chucks/bits, flywheels, spindles and shafts
(especially those with keys/bolts)
Drawing in/trapping caused when a belt runs
round a roller e.g. conveyors
Impact caused by objects which strike the body
but do not penetrate

Guarding on a chainsaw source Health & Safety Executive

Blade guard

Shrouded on-off switches

Width setter

Circular saw

Abrasive wheel

Lathe

Mechanical Hazards
Stabbing/puncture/ejection The body may be
penetrated by flying objects such as broken pieces of
machinery or sharp pieces of machinery (drill bits) or
ejection of material (swarf/sparks)
Friction/abrasion Friction burns or abrasion injuries
can be caused by coming into contact with smooth
surfaces moving at high speed (grinding wheel)
High pressure fluid injection Injection of fluids
through the skin. Air or hydraulic oil entering the blood
stream through the skin may be fatal. Immediate
medical assistance is essential

Protection against Mechanical

Hazards
Fixed distance guard
Does not completely cover the danger point
but puts it out of normal reach
A distance guard which completely
surrounds machinery is commonly called a
perimeter-fence type guard (1.8m high)

Fixed enclosing guard

Fine mesh prevents fingers reaching moving parts
Moving parts visible
Ventilation prevents overheating
Doesnt stop noise
Should contain broken belt and fragments
Tools needed to remove guard

Belt tensioner and drive motor

fixed perimeter fence
access via interlocked door
residual risk of falling in from above

Protection against Mechanical

Hazards
Anthropometric considerations
Guards should be designed and constructed
with the object of preventing any part of the
body from reaching a danger point or area.
They should take account of the physical
characteristics of the people involved, and
their abilities to reach through openings,
over or around barriers or guards

Protection against Mechanical

Hazards
Key Dimensions
.a Height of danger zone
.b Height of protective structure

Danger zone

.c Horizontal distance to danger

Reference plane

a
c

Protective Structure

Protection against Mechanical

Hazards
Interlocked guards
Similar to a fixed guard but has a movable (usually
hinged) part connected to the machine controls so
that if the movable part is open/lifted, the dangerous
moving part at the work point cannot operate.
Until the guard is closed the interlock prevents the
machine from operating
Or the guard remains closed until the risk of injury
has passed

Perimeter fence 2.4m

high

Door with
interlocks

Protection against Mechanical

Hazards
The four media for interlocking guards are
electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and
pneumatic
Guard locking systems
motion or position sensing devices photoelectric
beam
Timing devices delay relay, mechanical, electric
or electronic clocks
Guard locking devices captive key/trapped key

Dual Electrical
Interlock with
cross-monitoring

Protection against Machinery

Hazards
Automatic guards
Moved into position automatically by the machine
thereby removing any part of a person from the
danger area sometimes known as a sweep away
guard.
Operates by physically removing from the danger
area any part of a person
It can only be used where there is adequate time for
such removal to take place without introducing any
further danger

Protection against Machinery

Hazards
Trip devices
A trip device is a device which causes working
machinery to stop or assume an otherwise safe
condition while a person remains within the danger
area
Designed to ensure that an approach to a dangerous
part beyond a safe limit causes the device to operate
and the dangerous part to stop
May be reset automatically or manually after
operation

Protection against Machinery

Hazards
Pressure sensitive mat system
Contains sensors which operate when a
person or object applies pressure to the mat.
May be exposed to potential damage which
can result in failure.
Dimensions should take account of speed of
approach, length of stride and overall
response time

Protection against Machinery

Hazards
Adjustable guard
A fixed guard which incorporates an
adjustable element (which remains fixed for
the duration of a particular operation) e.g.
on a pillar drill or circular saw
Opening may be adjusted to accommodate
material

Adjustable guard

PTO

Fixed enclosing guard

Riving knife

Guarding a circular saw. Power takeoff (PTO) should also be guarded

Protection against Machinery

Hazards
Self-adjusting guard
Prevents accidental access by the operator but
allows entry of the material in such a way that the
material actually forms part of the guarding
arrangement e.g. hand held circular saw
Opened by passage of the workpiece
Returns to safe position on completion of the
operation

Protection against Machinery

Hazards
Two hand controls
A device which requires two hands to
operate and therefore protects the hands of
the operator
Protects only the operator

Protection against Machinery

Hazards
Emergency stop devices
The function of an emergency stop device is
to provide a means to bring a machine to a
rapid halt.
It should be easy to operate and clearly
discernible from other controls
Should be readily available to the operator
and/or others

Emergency stops

Light curtains

Provision and Use of Work

Equipment Regulations
Regulation 11 Dangerous parts of
machinery (hierarchy of control)
Fixed guards
Other guards or protection devices
Provision of jigs, holders, push-sticks or
similar protection appliances

Push stick

Non-mechanical hazards
Electricity power generated at a variety of
voltages, alternating/direct current, stored
energy, static electricity, batteries (chemical)
High/low temperature Many processes
rely on the input of high or low temperature
as part of the process or process may evolve
high or low temperatures

Non-mechanical hazards
Radiation may be ionising or nonionising
Hazardous substances may be part of the
process, evolved or introduced along with
materials by mistake e.g. vapours released
or substances carried on materials from a
prior process

Non-mechanical hazards
Noise noise sources from equipment may be
from such things as bearings that are loose or
worn, materials falling into or out of equipment or
from air exhausted from equipment
Vibration vibration may be designed as part of
the process or a result of moving parts of the
equipment such as conveyor systems and rotating
parts