SAFETY MOMENT, MARCH 15

Know where machines can hurt you

See today's safety moment How to give a safety moment

Safety moment, March 15

Machines do not know the difference between the material and your hand. Moving parts can crush, cut, pull in or throw things faster than anyone can react. Guards are there because nobody can stay perfectly careful every minute of every shift. A missing or bypassed guard can turn a normal day into a serious injury.

SAFETY MOMENT

March 15

The hazard

Machines do not know the difference between the material and your hand. Moving parts can crush, cut, pull in or throw things faster than anyone can react. Guards are there because nobody can stay perfectly careful every minute of every shift. A missing or bypassed guard can turn a normal day into a serious injury.

The action

Every machine with moving parts has danger points. OSHA's general machine rule lists hazards such as the point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, and flying chips and sparks. One or more methods of machine guarding must protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from them. Before you start, know where these points are on your machine. (29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1))

ASK THE CREW

What types of guards are on the machines in our area, and are any of them removed, propped open or worked around?

From the talk: Machine guarding. Read it in full, free, with the questions and the sign-in sheet.

HOW TO USE IT

How to give a safety moment

Gather the crew where they work, before the shift or the meeting starts. Read the hazard out loud.
Ask the question and let two or three people answer. What they say about their own work counts for more than what you read.
Name the action and point to one place on today's job where it applies, so everyone knows what to do differently.
Write the date and the names on a sign-in sheet.

A safety moment is short and does not replace the full talk. When you want to go through a topic with the crew, pick a free toolbox talk.

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