Tips For Working With Industrial Machinery

Safe machine operation is a foundational principle of work safety. We’ve already discussed moving vehicles, but modern factories are full of powerful stationary machines that are extremely dangerous. Stampers, presses, drills, grinders, brushes, and sanders are a few of the myriad kinds of machines you may encounter at work. Knowing how to use them, and the safety risks and hazards involved with them, is essential. The first rule of machine safety is to respect them. They can injure or kill in the blink of an eye. You should never use any type of industrial machinery in any kind of horseplay. Every year thousands of workers are injured, and some die, due to horseplay with machines. They’re not toys and shouldn’t be treated as such. If you don’t know how to operate a machine, don’t attempt to; and don’t turn it on just to see how it works. This is only asking for trouble. When you do operate a piece of machinery, follow all safety guidelines provided by the manufacturer and your employer, and only use it in the manner it was intended. Make sure all safety devices on the machine are in place and working properly before engaging it. If not, notify a supervisor or the safety department, and don’t use the machine until it’s repaired. Of course it goes without saying, but you should never attempt to defeat or disable a safety mechanism on a machine. If the machine begins to malfunction, turn it off and inform your boss so they can call maintenance or the safety department. Make sure that all non-working machinery is tagged out so that no one will use it, and if someone will be working on the machine, they should lock it out so that it can’t be accidentally turned on. When operating machinery, make sure you’re wearing all required personal protective equipment, such as gloves, head and neck shield, safety glasses, ear plugs, etc. Don’t take chances with safety. Respect the machine, know how to use it, know its dangers, and follow all safety procedures, then there’s no reason at all that you should ever be injured by a machine at work.