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726 Introduction to Machine Guarding
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Protective Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment

Engineering controls, that eliminate the hazard at the source and do not rely on the worker's behavior for their effectiveness offer the best and most reliable means of safeguarding.

Gloves could pull a worker's hands into a rotating lathe shaft causing severe injury or death.

Therefore, engineering controls must be the employer's first choice for eliminating machine hazards.

However, whenever engineering controls are not available or are not fully capable of protecting the employee (an extra measure of protection is necessary), operators must wear protective clothing or personal protective equipment.

Protective clothing is available for different parts of the body:

  • Hard hats can protect the head from the impact of bumps and falling objects.
  • Caps and hair nets can help keep the worker's hair from being caught in machinery.
  • If machine coolants could splash or particles could fly into the operator's eyes or face, face shields, safety goggles, glasses, or similar kinds of protection may be necessary.
  • Hearing protection may be needed when workers operate noisy machines.
  • To guard the trunk of the body from cuts or impacts, there are certain protective coveralls, jackets, vests, aprons, and full-body suits.
  • Workers can protect their hands and arms from the same kinds of injury with special sleeves and gloves.
  • Safety shoes and boots, or other acceptable foot guards, can shield the feet against injury in case the worker needs to handle heavy objects which might drop on their feet.

To provide adequate protection, protective clothing and equipment must always be:

  1. appropriate for the particular hazards;
  2. maintained in good condition;
  3. properly stored when not in use, to prevent damage or loss; and
  4. kept clean, fully functional, and sanitary.

Protective clothing and equipment can also create hazards.

  • A protective glove which can become caught on or between rotating parts, or a respirator facepiece which hinders the wearer's vision, for example, requires alertness and continued attentiveness whenever they are used.
  • Other parts of the worker's clothing may present additional safety hazards. For example, loose-fitting long-sleeve shirts might possibly become entangled in rotating spindles or other kinds of moving machinery. Jewelry, such as bracelets and rings, can catch on machine parts or stock and lead to serious injury by pulling a hand into the danger area.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

1-9. Which of the following may create hazards when working around moving machine parts?