{"id":46506,"date":"2021-04-01T08:47:38","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T15:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/?page_id=46506"},"modified":"2025-07-07T11:23:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T18:23:10","slug":"sppm-2-71","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/index\/manuals\/safety-policies-procedures-manual\/sppm-2-71\/","title":{"rendered":"2.71 Machinery Safeguards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Safety Policies and Procedures Manual<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Machinery Safeguards<\/h2>\n\n\n
\r\n \n
\r\n\t\n\n

SPPM 2.71<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information contact:<\/strong>
   Environmental Health and Safety
   509-335-3041<\/p>\n

\n

Overview<\/h3>\n

Departments are to use safeguards to protect employees and students from hazards associated with operating machines. Machine safeguards are generally physical barriers that either enclose or isolate hazards.<\/p>\n

When safeguards cannot be used during maintenance, service, and repairs, personnel are to disconnect and control (e.g., lockout) all machine power sources to prevent inadvertent activation (see SPPM 2.73<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Responsibility<\/h3>\n

Departmental Administrators<\/h4>\n

Departmental administrators are responsible for ensuring that machines used for work, teaching, and research are equipped and maintained with appropriate safeguards.<\/p>\n

Supervisors\/Faculty<\/h4>\n

Supervisors and faculty are responsible for training employees and students in the proper use of machinery and safeguards in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. This should be a part of the safety orientation (see SPPM 2.16<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Employees\/Students<\/h4>\n

Employees and students must properly use machines and safeguards at all times. Safeguards may only be removed during maintenance, service, and repairs when power sources are disconnected and controlled (e.g., locked out). See SPPM 2.73<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Employees and students are not to wear loose clothing, neckties, rings, or other jewelry that could be caught or entangled in moving parts. Employees and students whose hair is long enough to be caught or entangled in moving parts are to wear caps, hair nets, or other protection which confines hair.<\/p>\n

Inspection<\/h3>\n

Machines are to be inspected before each use in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. This process includes inspecting the operating controls, safety devices and guards, electrical cords, power transmission devices, and points-of-operation for obvious defects. Machine and equipment inspections with observed conformance to the specifications in this section do not require documentation unless specified in the user’s manual, by rule or by policy. Users must document nonconformance by hazard notification (see SPPM 2.52<\/a>) and tag out affected equipment (see SPPM 2.73<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Additionally, as part of the department’s annual self-inspection, supervisors are to check all machine operations in order to identify hazardous areas or processes. See SPPM 2.50<\/a> for self-inspection procedures.<\/p>\n

Safeguards<\/h3>\n

Obtain or design safeguards to completely enclose or prohibit access to hazards by reaching through, over, under, or around the guards. The safeguards are to be securely affixed to the machine or other attachment points. The safeguards are not to create a hazard, e.g., cutting hazard.<\/p>\n

Operations to Be Safeguarded<\/h4>\n

Safeguard the following two types of operations by using physical barriers that either enclose or isolate the hazard(s):<\/p>\n