The Machine Operator’s Jammed-Feedstock-Clearing Task: A Safety Design Challenge

Details

• Personal Author:
  Etherton J ; McKenzie E
• Description:
  Workers are often exposed to injury risk from sudden and unexpected machine movement when clearing jammed material from process machinery. An engineered safety response can effectively intervene to control or eliminate this risk. Backstrom and Doos (1998) found that about 25% of injuries involving automated machinery were preceded by a disturbance in process material flow such as a piece of material becoming stuck, crooked or getting in an otherwise faulty position. In the US, lockout is required when an employee is required to place any part of his or her body into an area on a machine or piece of equipment where work is actually performed upon the material being processed (point of operation) or where an associated danger zone exists during a machine operating cycle. Minor tool changes and adjustments, and other minor servicing activities, which take place during normal production operations, are not covered by the OSHA lockout standard if they are routine, repetitive, and integral to the use of the equipment for production, provided that the work is performed using alternative measures which provide effective protection [emphasis added] (OSHA, 1989). Machine control systems that can automatically detect and respond to hazardous operating conditions could be a way to reduce machine-related injury and fatality rates. Accurate laboratory testing criteria, based on key patterns manifested by the machine during hazardous events are vital to developing such new safety technology. This paper discusses safety design challenges in designing reliable safeguarding associated with machinery. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automation Engineering Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Control Technology Engineering Controls Injuries Injury Prevention Machine Operation Machine Operators Machinery Machine Safety Machine Shop Workers Machinists Traumatic Injuries

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• ISBN:
  9780791835562
• Publisher:
  American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  31-36
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021302
• Citation:
  Proceedings of 2001 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, November 11-16, 2001, New York, New York. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, IMECE2001/SERA-24004, 2001 Jul; :31-36
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of 2001 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, November 11-16, 2001, New York, New York
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3d1d06229b77658654f4aa1c5f5fff6c449f121b273fb599ecca4665d6ae0181342808bd8b322f4e2ad695116e4764ab36aa84140a95d66ef796e0b5dea81fa0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198682/cdc_198682_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 344.82 KB ]