Machine Guarding: Translation into Practice

Details

• Personal Author:
  Christy J ; Parker, David L.
• Description:
  Background: Metal fabrication workers experience high rates of traumatic occupational injuries. Machine operators in particular face high risks, often stemming from an absence or improper use of machine safeguarding or the failure to implement lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures. Small manufacturing businesses often lack access to occupational safety and health (OSH) expertise. Development of effective OSH interventions widely applicable to smaller firms remains a persistent challenge. The National Machine Guarding Program was a research initiative to address these issues among small (3 - 150 employees) metal fabrication businesses. This study assesses the impact of a nation-wide intervention to improve machine safety and LOTO in small metal fabrication businesses. Methods: The National Machine Guarding Program (NMGP) was a translational research initiative implemented in partnership with two workers' compensation (WC) insurers. Insurers enrolled metal fabrication businesses in an intervention designed to comprehensively improve machine safety. Technical checklists were developed for assessment of safeguarding equipment for 26 different types of metal fabrication machinery. An additional checklist was used to assess business-wide safety management practices such as safety committee activities, lockout/tagout (control of hazardous energy), and job hazard analyses (JHAs). Insurance safety consultants were trained to collect data on-site and deliver the intervention. Each participating business received four on-site visits from insurance safety consultants trained in study protocols: a baseline safety evaluation; intervention delivery visits at 3 months and 6 months; and a followup safety evaluation at 12 months After the one-year on-site intervention was completed, the research team developed and tested an additional checklist that businesses could use to independently self-audit their LOTO practices. Results: Among the 160 businesses that completed the intervention, the mean safety management audit score improved from 43% to 59% (p < 0.0001) and the mean machine safeguarding score increased from 73% to 79% (p < 0.0001). Businesses that added a joint management-labor safety committee during the intervention made the greatest improvements (44% to 68% for safety management, p < 0.0001; 74% to 84% for machine safeguarding, p < 0.0001), with particularly strong performance in lockout/tagout (increase from a mean of 54% to 87%; p < 0.0001). Developed based on those improvements in LOTO, the LOTO self-audit checklist was tested at ten businesses and found to have excellent inter-rater reliability and accuracy. Conclusions: The National Machine Guarding Program represents a new translational research model for widespread outreach to small industrial firms. Insurance safety consultants were highly effective at data collection and intervention delivery. Establishment of a joint management-labor safety committee was an important factor in improving safety programs even in the smallest businesses (3 - 10 employees), demonstrating the central role of joint worker-management cooperation. Insurance safety consultants proved effective at disseminating a machine safety and LOTO intervention via management-employee safety committees. Future research should further evaluate tools such as the LOTO self-audit checklist, as a reliable self-audit instrument removes the need for external auditors to visit worksites, thereby expanding capacity for outreach and intervention while minimizing costs of on-site audits. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Hazardous Substances Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Metals Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Exposure Levels Hazards Health Hazards Injuries Lockout Tagout Machine Guarding Machine Operation Machine Operators Machine Safety Metal Compounds Metal Industry Metal Industry Workers Metallic Compounds Models Risk Factors Safety Measures Statistical Analysis Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Workers

  More +
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-83
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050402
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2018-100191
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R01-OH-003884, 2017 Jul; :1-83
• Contact Point Address:
  Jenilee Christy, M.P.H. Senior Manager of Grant Development HealthPartners Institute, Mail Stop 23301A, P.O. Box 1524, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1524
• Email:
  Jenilee.E.Christy@healthpartners.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  Park Nicollet Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20170731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8cdc1c476d8ccaae492f6ab55f06624bb9322dc7dce0b2afd8e53fef20c491ba7f3f870b5e6c2bfd6863c31a8f164880f90309efc2f63d80c7c710e021d2d1dd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218672/cdc_218672_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.29 MB ]