Machine Guarding with Hartley Webb

Machine Guarding ranks number 9 out of OSHA’s Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards, with 1,743 violations in 2019. According to OSHA’s Machine guarding eTool, there are over 18,000 injuries and 800 deaths each year attributed to worker exposure to unguarded or inadequately guarded machines. Does your workplace have presses, shears, gears, rollers, conveyors, or shafts? How about mixers, jointers, portable power tools, or power saws? What do they have in common? Their moving parts can cause a multitude of serious or life changing injuries like amputations, crushed limbs or digits, and blindness. And all may fall under the machine guarding standard.

In this episode, Peter speaks with Hartley Webb, MEMIC’s expert on machine guarding, about what machine guarding is, hazards of unguarded machines, and common strategies to control worker exposure. Listen in as they discuss different types of guards from fixed to interlocking and self-adjusting, as well as devices like light curtains and two hand controls/trips that protect the worker from moving parts.

The MEMIC Safety Experts Podcast hosted by Peter Koch will interview industry leaders on the trends, tools, and techniques that are tried, tested, or emerging in the world of workplace safety. What you learn could save your life or the life of a friend or coworker, or at least save everyone from a few unnecessary cuts, burns and bruises. Thank you for joining us in our mission to make work, and the world, a safer place.

You can find the MEMIC Safety Experts Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or right here on MEMIC.com/podcast.

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