Automation Canada - Machine Safety - 3

FOUR WAYS TO KEEP YOUR WORKERS
SAFE AROUND CONVEYOR SYSTEMS
Conveyor systems play an important role in industries like packaging,
food and commodity, and semiconductor manufacturing, and they vary
depending on the type, weight, and dimensions of products being
transported and the environment in which they're installed. One thing
that all such systems have in common, however, is a certain set of
functional safety requirements.
A comprehensive approach to keeping your team safe and your
machines running will always start with a risk assessment to identify
what risks the operators will be exposed to when performing activities
like maintenance and troubleshooting, Let's take a look at three
conveyor-related safety considerations you should be aware of.
1. BE SURE TO GUARD ALL PINCH POINTS.
The idea of a pinch point seems self-explanatory, but there are
actually several categories of areas that could be pinch points. As
detailed in OSHA 1910.211(d)(44), these are places where part of a
person's body could be caught:
* Between the moving parts of a press or auxiliary equipment,
*Between moving and stationary parts of a press or auxiliary
equipment, or
* Between the material and moving part (or parts) of the press or
auxiliary equipment.
Nip points are a subcategory of pinch points that involve rotating
objects like gears, rollers, belt drives and pulleys. Although the choice
of guard will depend on the specific characteristics of the machine, it
remains necessary that all pinch points must be guarded to keep
operators safe.
CANADIAN AUTOMATION
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2
3

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Automation Canada - Machine Safety

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