Employee exposure to unguarded or inadequately guarded machines is prevalent in many workplaces. Consequently, workers who operate and maintain machinery suffer approximately 18,000 amputations, lacerations, crushing injuries, abrasions, and over 800 deaths per year.
Proper use of machine guards can help protect employee hazards related to the point of operation, power transmission devices, and operating controls. To ensure safety, it's important to use machine guards properly. Take these precautions:
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- Do not attempt to by-pass machine guards in an effort to save time. Machine guards are there for your protection.
- Do not remove machine guards, except during repair or maintenance of the machine. Then, always use lockout/ tag out procedures to protect accidental startup.
- Replace machine guards after repair or maintenance.
- Wear eye protection when cutting, sawing, drilling or grinding.
- Avoid wearing loose clothing or jewelry when operating power equipment. These could get caught in machines and drag you or parts of your body into the machinery.
- If using electrical tools always use GFCI protection
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