Whyismachinerysafety

important?

Movingmachinerycancauseinjuriesinmanyways:

Peoplecanbestruckandinjuredbymovingpartsofmachineryorejectedmaterial.Partsofthebodycanalsobe
drawninortrappedbetweenrollers,beltsandpulleydrives
Sharpedgescancausecutsandseveringinjuries,sharppointedpartscancausestabbingorpuncturetheskin,and
roughsurfacepartscancausefrictionorabrasion
Peoplecanbecrushed,bothbetweenpartsmovingtogetherortowardsafixedpartofthemachine,wallorother
object,andtwopartsmovingpastoneanothercancauseshearing
Partsofthemachine,materialsandemissions(suchassteamorwater)canbehotorcoldenoughtocauseburnsor
scaldsandelectricitycancauseelectricalshockandburns
Injuriescanalsooccurduetomachinerybecomingunreliableanddevelopingfaultsorwhenmachinesareused
improperlythroughinexperienceorlackoftraining

WhatdoIhavetodo?
Beforeyoustart
Beforeyoustartusinganymachineyouneedtothinkaboutwhatrisksmayoccurandhowthesecanbemanaged.You
shouldthereforedothefollowing:

Checkthatthemachineiscomplete,withallsafeguardsfitted,andfreefromdefects.Thetermsafeguarding
includesguards,interlocks,twohandcontrols,lightguards,pressuresensitivematsetc.Bylaw,thesuppliermust
providetherightsafeguardsandinformbuyersofanyrisks('residualrisks')thatusersneedtobeawareofand
managebecausetheycouldnotbedesignedout
Produceasafesystemofworkforusingandmaintainingthemachine.Maintenancemayrequiretheinspectionof
criticalfeatureswheredeteriorationwouldcausearisk.Alsolookattheresidualrisksidentifiedbythemanufacturer
intheinformation/instructionsprovidedwiththemachineandmakesuretheyareincludedinthesafesystemof
work
Ensureeverystaticmachinehasbeeninstalledproperlyandisstable(usuallyfixeddown)
Choosetherightmachineforthejobanddonotputmachineswherecustomersorvisitorsmaybeexposedtorisk
NotethatnewmachinesshouldbeCEmarkedandsuppliedwithaDeclarationofConformityandinstructionsin
English

Makesurethemachineis:

safeforanyworkthathastobedonewhensettingup,duringnormaluse,whenclearingblockages,whencarrying
outrepairsforbreakdowns,andduringplannedmaintenance
properlyswitchedoff,isolatedorlockedoffbeforetakinganyactiontoremoveblockages,cleanoradjustthe
machine

Also,makesureyouidentifyanddealwiththerisksfrom:

electrical,hydraulicorpneumaticpowersupplies
badlydesignedsafeguards.Thesemaybeinconvenienttouseoreasilyoverridden,whichcouldencourageyour
workerstoriskinjuryandbreakthelaw.Iftheyare,findoutwhytheyaredoingitandtakeappropriateactiontodeal
withthereasons/causes
Preventingaccesstodangerousparts
Thinkabouthowyoucanmakeamachinesafe.Themeasuresyouusetopreventaccesstodangerouspartsshouldbe
inthefollowingorder.Insomecasesitmaybenecessarytouseacombinationofthesemeasures:

Usefixedguards(egsecuredwithscrewsornutsandbolts)toenclosethedangerousparts,wheneverpractical.
Usethebestmaterialfortheseguardsplasticmaybeeasytoseethroughbutmayeasilybedamaged.Whereyou
usewiremeshorsimilarmaterials,makesuretheholesarenotlargeenoughtoallowaccesstomovingparts
Iffixedguardsarenotpractical,useothermethods,eginterlocktheguardsothatthemachinecannotstartbefore
theguardisclosedandcannotbeopenedwhilethemachineisstillmoving.Insomecases,tripsystemssuchas
photoelectricdevices,pressuresensitivematsorautomaticguardsmaybeusedifotherguardsarenotpractical
Whereguardscannotgivefullprotection,usejigs,holders,pushsticksetcifitispracticaltodoso
Controlanyremainingriskbyprovidingtheoperatorwiththenecessaryinformation,instruction,training,supervision
andappropriatesafetyequipment

Casestudy

Otherthingsyoushouldconsider
Ifmachinesarecontrolledbyprogrammableelectronicsystems,changestoanyprogrammesshouldbecarriedout
byacompetentperson(someonewhohasthenecessaryskills,knowledgeandexperiencetocarryoutthework
safely).Keeparecordofsuchchangesandchecktheyhavebeenmadeproperly
Ensurecontrolswitchesareclearlymarkedtoshowwhattheydo
Haveemergencystopcontrolswherenecessary,egmushroomheadpushbuttonswithineasyreach
Makesureoperatingcontrolsaredesignedandplacedtoavoidaccidentaloperationandinjury,usetwohand
controlswherenecessaryandshroudstartbuttonsandpedals
Donotletunauthorised,unqualifiedoruntrainedpeopleusemachineryneverallowchildrentooperateorhelpat
machines.Someworkers,egnewstarters,youngpeopleorthosewithdisabilities,maybeparticularlyatriskand
needinstruction,trainingandsupervision
Adequatetrainingshouldensurethatthosewhousethemachinearecompetenttouseitsafely.Thisincludes
ensuringtheyhavethecorrectskills,knowledgeandexperiencesometimesformalqualificationsareneeded,eg
forchainsawoperators
Supervisorsmustalsobeproperlytrainedandcompetenttobeeffective.Theymayneedextraspecifictrainingand
therearerecognisedcoursesforsupervisors
Ensuretheworkareaaroundthemachineiskeptcleanandtidy,freefromobstructionsorslipsandtripshazards,
andwelllit

Dosanddontsofmachinerysafetyforworkers
Do
checkthemachineiswellmaintainedandfittobeused,ieappropriateforthejobandworkingproperlyandthatall
thesafetymeasuresareinplaceguards,isolators,lockingmechanisms,emergencyoffswitchesetc
usethemachineproperlyandinaccordancewiththemanufacturersinstructions
makesureyouarewearingtheappropriateprotectiveclothingandequipmentrequiredforthatmachine,suchas
safetyglasses,hearingprotectionandsafetyshoes

Dont
useamachineorappliancethathasadangersignortagattachedtoit.Dangersignsshouldonlyberemovedbyan
authorisedpersonwhoissatisfiedthatthemachineorprocessisnowsafe
weardanglingchains,looseclothing,ringsorhaveloose,longhairthatcouldgetcaughtupinmovingparts
distractpeoplewhoareusingmachines
removeanysafeguards,eveniftheirpresenceseemstomakethejobmoredifficult

Findoutmore
HSE'sequipmentandmachinerywebsite

Thelaw
ProvisionandUseofWorkEquipmentRegulations1998(PUWER)