Items Tagged with 'Machinery safety'

Arlington, VA — The “collective effort” of mine industry workers and stakeholders in 2022 contributed to a 21.6% decrease in worker deaths over the previous year, Mine Safety and Health Administration head Chris Williamson said during a recent conference call.

Skid-steer loaders, often used on construction sites for excavating and other tasks, have features that expose workers to many injury risks, including caught-between incidents and rollovers.

Used in the plastics industry, thermoplastic injection molding machines “produce molded plastic parts by converting plastic pellets into molten material, injecting the molten plastic into a mold and cooling the plastic material,” OSHA says. Industries that use these machines include toy, medical device and beverage container manufacturers.

Nearly half of all work-related injuries involving mechanical power presses result in amputation, statistics compiled by OSHA show. Around 60% of amputations involve a worker’s fingers or arm getting caught or compressed by a press or other machinery such as a conveyer, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Iowa City, IA — A NIOSH-funded study of farm machinery found that the machine operators experienced whole-body vibration at levels that reached the European Union’s “action level” for exposure limit within two hours of operation on nearly 30 percent of the equipment tested.

We need to upgrade our machine guarding. Where do we start?

Woodworking machines – with their moving parts and sharp blades – can be extremely dangerous if not used correctly. Amputations, blindness and lacerations are common injuries related to working with these machines.

The Cable and Push-Button E-Stop emergency stop device features a unique cam operation for faster positive stopping of metal working machines, yet it is immune to nuisance tripping because of vibrations.

Wood chippers and shredders are powerful machines. Ohio State University cautions that the knives used in wood chippers as well as in shredders can easily slice through fresh wood, and the engines are powerful enough to grind tree limbs and entire branches.