Machine guards

When employees are under pressure to deliver, they often ignore the importance of machine guards. The guards are there to prevent disaster from happening; hence a regular inspection should be carried out to ensure that guards are in good condition.

Operating any equipment without guards in place poses a safety risk for both the user as well as employees working adjacent to the operation. Companies should make sure that when electrical or mechanical equipment is acquired, it comes with all the necessary safety parts. Special attention should be given to machinery or equipment that has been purchased as second-hand and suppliers should be held liable if they fail to deliver all required parts.

Once the machine is installed or believed to be ready for use, an inspection should be carried out to determine the condition of all safety features and particularly safety guards and fences. These guards and fences should always be firm and in good working conditions. To inspect the functionality of the guards, the inspector should switch on the machine to see the performance of the guards when machinery is in use. Lose or defect guards and fences could increase the exposure of an employee to injuries and incidents.

An inspection should identify all unguarded nip points of machinery to prevent unforeseen incidents that could result in injuries. The inspector should recommend changes or offer advice if he comes across an area of inspection which he or she feels need special attention immediately before an incident occurs.

Operating a machine which has no appropriate safety features in place can be considered a criminal offence. If such activity is discovered during an unannounced visit by representatives from the Department of Labour, employers should not be surprised if inspectors demand that an activity must be stopped immediately.

Even if guards are in place companies should not relax and feel they are on the safe side of the law. Some machinery is labelled with safety signs that it should not be operated unless guards are in position. An inspection should identify such machine and a thorough inspection should be conducted as the hazard of such machinery is extensive as it could lead to instant loss of life or loss of body parts. When employers fail to ensure that all dangerous machinery they purchase is labelled with these signs, inspectors of the Department of Labour can also demand an activity to be seized.

Safety signs and warnings should be fitted to ensure that operators can act correctly when a machine needs to be inspected or maintained.

Regardless of how much effort is put to having safety guards in place, employees play an important role too. They should be educated about the importance of a guard and non-observance of its use should be made a punishable offence. This will maximise employees' caution. They should be encouraged to report guards they suspect to be malfunctioning immediately.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that guards are only meant to protect what is stored inside the machinery. Safety guards are there to protect those outside from what is happening inside!