Table Of Contents
The Best Practices For Safe Machinery Handling
Moving machinery might look simple on paper. You just have to pick the items up, move them from A to B, and put them down again.
But the reality is often a whole lot more complicated. A move can turn very risky, very quickly, if the basics aren’t in place.
Heavy loads, awkward angles, and people working close together all increase the chance of accidents.
Safe machine handling here isn’t slowing the job down; it’s what keeps the move on track and avoids delays in the long run!
What Is Safe Machine Handling?
Safe machine handling is all about a comprehensive practice, measurement, and standards that can protect the workers from the physical and non-physical hazards posed by the machines.
The safe machine handling approach especially includes the process of
- Identifying,
- Assessing, and
- Controlling risks
These are associated with machinery in industrial or workshop environments.
The goal of safe machine handling is to create and maintain a secure working environment by implementing controls. This can prevent contact with
- Dangerous machine parts,
- Manage energy sources, and
- Ensure proper operating procedures.
What Are The Main Key Principles Of Safe Machine Handling?
The main key principles of safe machine handling involve:
Machine guarding: All dangerous, moving parts must be guarded to prevent contact. This includes pinch points, power transmissions, and cutting elements,
Lockout/Tagout (LOTO): It is necessary to prevent accidental start-ups. The Procedures include de-energizing and locking out a machine’s power source during maintenance or repair.
Emergency stops: Always ensure that the emergency stop buttons are clear. It can allow for immediate machine shutdown in a crisis.
Personal protective equipment (PPE): As an operator, you must use the correct PPE. This includes
- Safety glasses,
- Gloves, and
- Appropriate footwear.
These can help to protect against hazards like flying debris.
Operator competence: Only trained and authorized personnel should operate machinery. This includes knowing proper startup, operation, and shutdown procedures.
Pre-operation checks: Before each use, operators must inspect the machine and its safeguards for any faults or damage.
Things That You Must Consider Before Starting Safe Machinery Handling
First things first, you must consider identifying all the potential hazards. This can include the mechanical, electrical, and thermal risks.
The risk assessment can also help you to evaluate both the likelihood and severity of the potential injury. This way, you will be able to determine all the necessary control measurements.
Secondly, you can use the “Hierarchy of Controls” to manage risks, starting with the most effective methods. This includes:
- Elimination/Substitution: Remove the hazard entirely, such as by replacing a noisy machine with a quieter one.
- Engineering Controls: You can consider using physical barriers and safety features. This can help to reduce exposure to machine guards, emergency stops, and interlocks.
- Administrative Controls: You can implement safety procedures, warning signs, and proper training.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Provide and enforce the use of appropriate gear.
Last comes the anchor machinery. This ensures that any machine design fixed for a specific location is secure. You have to check if the machine is anchored to the floor. This way, you can prevent the machine from moving or walking during the operation.
Training Matters More Than Ever
Not every worker is trained to move machines, and that gap shows when things start rolling. A forklift in the hands of someone who only “sort of knows” what they’re doing is an accident waiting to happen, not to mention multiple HSE compliance nightmares unfolding in front of your eyes.
Operators need to understand not just their equipment, but the way machinery behaves when lifted, tilted, or pushed into new spaces.
Refresher training is worth it. Even if they were trained for the previous move, these things fade, especially with tasks people don’t do every day.
With bigger moves and more delicate or complicated machinery, it’s generally better to leave it to the experts – use a service like AIS Vanguard and let your machine operators stay out of the way.
Check The Path First
The route that you’re going to take is one of the most important parts of the move. Uneven floors, low ceilings, or tight corners can undo even the most careful handling techniques at the drop of a hat. Add in stray tools or packaging left in walkways, and the hazards quickly multiply.
It sounds basic, but walking the path before moving anything is one of the simplest safety checks.
Is there clearance? Enough room to turn? Are exits and fire routes still open? These quick checks avoid nasty surprises once the machine is on the move.
Pre-Move Inspections
Machines themselves need some looking at before they’re moved. Loose panels, small oil leaks, and missing bolts are all these basic problems that seem small, but can end up causing chaos if they worsen mid-lift.
Lifting gear also has to be checked. Slings, jacks, and skates, if any of these fail, you can end up destroying your machinery and causing serious injuries.
Skipping these kinds of relatively basic inspections might be tempting when you’re under time pressure, but it only pushes risk onto the people who are doing the work.
Team Communication
Moves usually involve a lot more than one person, and the bigger the machine, the more voices in the mix. Shouting doesn’t cut it on a noisy floor.
Clear signals or radios are necessary to keep everyone aligned and on the same page. Even more important is agreeing on a plan in advance.
Who gives the stop signal? Who watches clearances? Without that clarity, people often guess and inevitably cause accidents.
Maintain A Clean Workspace
A workplace should be a clear and clutter-free workspace. That way you create a safer workspace. You just have to ensure that the aisles, walkways, and storage areas are all clean or well-organized.
Try to remove all sorts of obstacles and debris from your pathways. This can help prevent you or others from tripping over hazards.
Moreover, you also need proper lighting, as it is extremely necessary in dimly lit areas.
Final Thoughts!
Safe machinery handling during moves isn’t complicated. It involves training people properly, checking the path to take, inspecting equipment, and utilizing the right external contractors to ensure everyone and everything remains safe.
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