It is absolutely essential to ensure that machines operating in your facility are properly safeguarded. Any machine part, process, or function which may cause an injury should be thoroughly assessed and safeguarded. When it comes to machine safeguarding, manufacturers are required to hire professionals with a deep understanding of the risk reduction procedures and risk assessment. There is a need for a considerate approach to planning and implementation services required to accomplish this project.
It is important that all machine guards are appropriate for the hazards involved, and constructed of durable materials. Although many machines are similar in terms of design, but they are used to perform specific or different operations. The best technique to understand the operation and maintenance of a manufacturing machine is to observe it when operational. This will help manufacturers ensure safety and compliance while fully understanding and meeting productivity requirements. What follows are machine safeguarding insights broken down into a 4-step process:
Identification
It is an easy process for safety managers to identify applications that demand a level of safeguarding. In the identification of hazardous scenarios, analysis of a facility’s accident record will provide great assistance. Most of the time, manufacturers assess the high-risk machines first. In some cases, risk assessments are conducted on every machine present before implementing the risk reduction portion of the plan in order to prioritize the plan of attack.
Information collection
Once the machine or process has been identified for a risk assessment, the next step is to collect all of the relevant information relating to the application. This information includes the lifecycle requirements, capacity of a machine, any information concerning energy sources and all available sketches, drawings, system descriptions or other means of establishing the nature of the machine.
Observation
Machines can be identical but they propose different hazards when incorporated into different systems. For example, a manufacturer may design and produce hundreds of identical robots. Each robot can be incorporated into a system with unique hazards. One unit may be used for welding application, one unit may be used for material handling or assembly. It is crucial to observe each individual unit for potentially different risk levels.
Engineering and administrative control
When building and implementing engineering controls to reduce risk, select solutions that can satisfactorily eliminate hazards. In addition to protective technology and devices, efficient control systems should be carefully selected. The next step should focus on implementing administrative controls which may include safe work procedures and training.
At At BP Automation, we provide comprehensive machine guarding solutions for many applications. Being a reputable automation engineering company, our job is to ensure workplace safety while improving productivity and profitability through smart automated machines. Reach us for one-stop automation and machine guarding solutions!
