On Friday March 8, 2013 IPAM (Incident Prevention Association of Manitoba) held a breakfast meeting at the Canad Inns Polo Park. Workplace Engineering Solutions sponsored this event and gave a presentation on The Machine Safeguarding Process.
We talked about how to perform a proper machine guarding assessment and the critical items in the process. The presentation was for a diverse group of individuals from across industry. At the end of the presentation a group discussion brought forward some important points. The group discussed the need to push back on the manufacturers to incorporate machine safeguarding in their design. Having a strong purchase agreement that asks for compliance with relevant codes and standards is a good first step. Also having run off criteria to validate these items before the equipment arrives was another best practice discussed. The group also discussed the need for machine safeguarding to be integrated into the production process. When safeguarding is not designed with the process in mind, and hinders the operation, it becomes a safety hazard itself. Good machine safeguarding is designed to work with the process to ensure compliance is automatic.
Workplace Engineering Solutions would like to thank IPAM for allowing us to host the event. Please visit their website at http://ipam-manitoba.com and have a look at what they are working on.