Osha Lathe Guarding Requirements

To view these and other tower protection products, please call 1-800-922-7533 or visit www.rockfordsystems.com/product/protector-series-shields/ Another type of protection commonly used on towers is a chip protector/coolant. These are often useful when the operator`s personal protective equipment (PPE) does not adequately control waste from the cutting tool. If chips hit the operator in the upper body or accumulate on the ground and present a slip hazard, chip and coolant protection is often suggested to supplement the operator`s PPE. OSHA Standard 1910.219 addresses the need to cover rotating components to prevent the operator`s hair and clothing from getting stuck and pulling into the machine. These rotating components include the spindle, feed rod, through-rod and camshaft in the lower front part of the lathe. Special hand tools for the insertion and removal of materials must be designed in such a way as to allow easy handling of the material without the operator having to enter the danger zone. These tools shall not replace the other protective devices prescribed in this Division, but may only be used to supplement the protection provided. The location of machinery whose operation exposes a worker to injury must be monitored. The guard shall comply with the applicable standards or, if no specific standard is applicable, be designed and constructed in such a way that the operator is not in the danger zone during the operating cycle. Here are some of the machines that normally require protection at the point of operation: Types of guards. One or more methods of protecting machinery must be provided to protect operators and other machinery personnel against hazards associated with the point of operation, incoming pinch points, rotating parts, flying flashes and sparks.

Examples of protection methods are barrier protection devices, two-handed release devices, electronic safety devices, etc. General requirements for machinery guards. As far as possible, guards must be mounted on the machinery and fixed elsewhere if, for whatever reason, attachment to the machinery is not possible. The protective device must be designed in such a way that there is not in itself a risk of accident. Tower chuck devices prevent the operator`s hand or clothing from getting stuck in the chuck during turning. For added security, the chuck protection is designed in such a way that the spindle wrench cannot be „forgotten“ by omission. These protectors are available for manual centering lathes of different sizes and the type of guard to be used is selected according to the size of the lathe and its maximum workpiece diameter. Power protectors are always equipped with a micro-switch. There is a national consensus standard, ANSI B11.6-1975, which contains safety requirements for the construction, maintenance and use of towers. Section 5 of this standard contains the safety requirements.

Paragraph 5.3 states: Metal telescopic boots are available to cover rotating components horizontally with a lathe, although many manufacturers choose not to use them. According to feedback from OSHA compliance officers and insurance loss control inspectors, one of the most common filming accidents resulted from misuse of the standard power key provided by the lathe`s manufacturer. There is no specific OSHA standard for tower cores. It was and is OSHA policy that, in the absence of a specific standard applicable to a machine, the general requirements apply to all machines, 29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1). If a national consensus standard exists, it may be used as a guideline for the application of the general requirements of 29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1). Therefore, automatic or semi-automatic lathes used for production operations equipped with a work device such as a lathe chuck operated under the conditions described in paragraph 5.3 of ANSI B11.6-1975 require a fixed or movable guard. All methods of protection mentioned in paragraph 5.3 are acceptable, with the exception of the sensitization barrier, as the latter barrier does not meet the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1). Not all work safety equipment needs to be protected. Therefore, a thorough evaluation of the clamping device must be carried out. This is a follow-up to your letter of August 29 regarding point-of-operation protections for presses and drilling towers. In April 2011, the horizontal rotating components of a lathe claimed the life of a 22-year-old student at Yale University`s Sterling Chemistry Laboratory.

While working alone very late at night, her hair got stuck in this part of the machine, causing a choking.