Product Defects - Guarding

A product, or more generally, a piece of machinery in which a hazard is not guarded often injures persons. Common injury mechanisms are instances in which a user's hand or some other body part is caught and dragged into a machine. This can occur in an industrial setting during a manufacturing process, or at home for example on a piece of yard or other power equipment. We sometimes find that the hazard area has not been properly guarded, or that the user has not been properly warned. In some cases, guards have been supplied but have been removed, or the machine has been changed. In these instances, we then must consider whether interlocks should have been part of the design.

Again, our library is of great help. We maintain all the current OSHA Standards for workplace safety, and have contacts in the regional OSHA office for special interpretations when needed. In addition, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Underwriter's Lab, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the National Safety Council publish numerous standards for proper design and function of these potentially hazardous devices. We endeavor to maintain a library of these Codes, Standards, and guidelines, even maintaining older out of date editions that may still be applicable to older machines or conditions.

 

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