Shears guillotines and presses.

Shears guillotines and presses – Shears, guillotines and presses are heavy machines that are used in workplaces. They are very useful as they take away the burden of hard labour but they can be equally dangerous. Their components need a thorough risk assessment to determine if they are safe to use.

One of the most important components of such equipment that requires an assessment is the machine guards. All safety guards must be in place in all the equipment. Machines guards help prevent hands or fingers from accidentally getting stuck in the machinery when in operation. Not only is it necessary to check if guards are in place but an assessment should establish if they are correctly and firmly fitted. Loose or incorrectly fitted guards could also pose a safety risk as they may fly out of the machine during an operation and hit the operator.

Machinery that has no electrical or mechanical guard in place requires to be controlled by hands which need to be simultaneously used to set the machinery in motion. An assessor must ensure that the safety device is in a perfect working condition to safeguard hands from incidents. It is advisable for employers to provide employees with protective equipment just as an added safety mechanism to protect hands. These can come in the form of gloves.

Sensors play a major role in the functionality of equipment hence they require to be regularly inspected. The sensor plays a major role of stopping the movement of the machine when it sense the presence of an object near the cutting or nip point. A risk assessment should determine if an electronic sensing device is fitted in machinery that does not have a point of operation guard or an automatic sweep-away device. Also, employers should ensure that their machinery is kept clean and in a good working condition and the sensor is free of dirt so that the sensor continues to work properly.

For machinery that is not fitted with a fixed guard, a risk assessment should establish if the equipment is fitted with a guard which will automatically adjust to the thickness of the machinery. An assessor should do a practical check on the guards as unguarded or incorrect guards on machinery can contribute to serious accidents and injuries. Employees' body parts can get caught on the machinery blades and even get amputated.

Is the anti-repeat device fitted on the machine and is it working perfectly? This is what an assessor should look out for to ensure machinery is properly working under automatic instructions. Employees would be safe-guarded against faulty machinery that would repeat an action when they least expecting it hence; injure them.

A risk assessor should also check if the hand control levers are effectively functional by doing a practical test on them. The working stroke should be arrested at all times to prevent the operator from touching or reaching his hands in to the dangerous areas while trying to operate the controls with the other. All devices that may appear faulty or seem to pose a safety threat should be replaced or repaired immediately.

The automatic sweep-away is the most recommended guarding device as it effectively safe-guards the operator from endangering himself while removing cut-offs from the bed of the machine. This essential device should be assessed individually if it's fully and properly operational. Such a faulty device may contribute to an employee getting injured while trying to remove excess cut offs from a machine bed.

For machines that are fitted with no alert devices, employers can take it upon themselves to fit them so as to increase safety in the workplace. Companies can invest in sirens, alarms and flash lights that can be used as an indication that machinery is in operation. This will make everyone around the operation area aware and to take caution. However, if such devices are fitted they should also be subjected to a risk assessment to determine if they serve their purpose.

Some measures can be implemented by companies to increase health and safety even if they are not a legal requirement. Some machines are remote controlled by an operator who might not be visible close to the machine. Signs can be mounted next to machinery warning other employees to take caution so that don't mistakenly assume the machine is stationary and make the mistake of touching it. Also, operational space around such machinery should be free and unobstructed so that operators work effectively without distractions that can cause them to make mistakes that can cost them.

Companies should keep records of their maintenance records so that they are able to see when next their machinery needs attention. An assessor should check records to see when last maintenance was done as unmaintained blades can become blunt and can contribute to accidents as they won't be able to cut effectively. Employees' lives would be endangered by less maintained machinery.

It's essential to keep machines up to standards as it is a guarantee that a good job will be done, but faulty ones will cost employees and employers an arm and a leg. Wise up and get your equipment assessed today.