Machine Guarding

Machines that are not properly safeguarded can cause serious injury, such as crushed or severed fingers, hands and arms, eye injuries, and even blindness.

If you’ve ever seen the gruesome result of a complex machinery accident, then you will appreciate the need for machine safeguards. When we talk about safeguards, we’re talking about simple devices that make it difficult for workers to injure themselves while working on a machine, like a shield or guard to protect from sparks, or a grate that keeps them away from the churning part of a rotary blade.

Shortcuts around machine safety features are a frequently cited cause for many machine related accidents, occurring when workers decide to forego the normal protocol of working with a safeguard and bypass it altogether, leaving them with considerable risk of harm and injury. Workers should never ignore the engineered controls or safety features of machinery—these devices exist for a reason.