Every industry setting must meet standards of safety for employees. Maintaining a safe workplace also makes financial sense. Avoiding the financial cost associated with accidents and worker injuries is important. Every factory and industry can take steps to create a safer workplace and improve machine up-time.
Where Industry Safety Products Are Found
Exploring Dynamic Protection in Industry Equipment is the first step in creating a safer workplace. Machine guarding can reduce accident risks and protect manufacturing equipment. OSHA is the government agency that establishes minimum safety standards for the workplace and R3 identifies and reduces workplace risks even after those standards have been met. This creates a safe work environment that goes beyond legal compliance.
Companies such as Dynatect design, manufacture, and offer safety products that include articulating physical barriers, flexible guarding, roll-up doors, torque limiters, and other safety controls to reduce workplace hazards from moving machinery parts. Look for companies who specialize in manufacturing safety products and offer expert assistance in creating safer work environments.
Machine Guarding
Machine guards are a safety product designed to provide physical barriers, machine safety controls, or torque limiters to reduce the dangers created by machine pinch points and moving parts. The hazards associated with machinery that machine guarding can prevent contact include:
- Parts of the machinery that move such as gears, sharp blades, belts, or rotating features
- Areas of operation where manufactured materials are processed such as cutting edges or dangerous pinch points
- Flying materials such as wood chips, sparks, metal shavings, or other debris ejected during machine operation
- Fire hazards from dust and friction
Machine guarding contributes to a safer workplace and improves employee morale. These safety measures will lower insurance costs and reduce workplace injuries. They help businesses comply with legal safety requirements from OSHA. They also reduce manufacturing downtime required for repairs when accidents happen weightloss.
Categories of Manufacturing Safety Products
There are several types of safety products that may be needed depending on the manufacturing or industrial setting. They include:
- Machine guards
- Safety controls for machines
- Arm and hand protection for workers
- Barriers to isolate machinery pinch points
- Fire protection
Safety Solutions
Some of the safety controls that might be needed include different types of safety doors such as horizontal machine doors with automatic door actuators, machine safety doors, and roll-up doors. There are numerous products designed to separate workers from hazardous processes. Protecting workers from falls and hazardous openings where there are machines installed below floor level such as large machine tools and planer mills is important. Machinery automatic retractable covers are one solution.
Containers with roll-up covers that safely contain chemicals and dangerous fumes are another safety product. They are controlled by automatic retraction mechanisms like electric motors and gear drives. They are made of materials that withstand corrosive chemicals and heat.
Hand and arm protection for workers includes safety clutches and protective gear. Controlling dangerous pinch points can include lift covers and accordion-type skirting.
Environmental and manufacturing protections must include fire protection. Products must provide dust containment and sound control. Machine roof covers can help with this.
Equipment to improve the ventilation of motors and engines can be accomplished with proper ductwork, bellows, and motor boots. Machine lathes and all rotating parts can be protected with shade rollers and metal housings.
Investing in safety products to protect machinery and workers is always a good investment.
