Dear valued customer / supplier, As you know with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic many people have been asked or required to limit personal contact and stay home. Machine Guard & Cover Co. is a critical source of components and solutions to the food service, transportation, manufacturing, and power generation industries and as such …
Identifying and mitigating exposures to occupational hazards before work begins is the objective of all safety and health professionals. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) offers a basic outline to improve workplace safety through its interpretation of the Hierarchy of Controls. The hierarchy starts with the controls perceived to be most effective …
Despite the inherent hazard of motor couplings, Machine Guard & Cover Co. finds many couplings improperly guarded or completely unguarded during site visits. Couplings are both exposed shafts and grab points that present hazards to anybody with loose clothing, hair or laces. In most cases where an attempt at guarding has been made, a piece …
When designing turbine shaft guarding for hydroelectric dams, there are numerous challenges of size, space and simplicity that must be addressed. Although these aren’t exactly new challenges for Machine Guard & Cover Company, since we regularly work in environments where floor space is at a premium, some projects can still be daunting. We were approached …
This water treatment facility had a cast pump housing with a coupling that required guarding. The shape of the housing and the constant rotation of the coupling provided an opportunity to use perforated plastic mesh as a guarding material. The plastic mesh was used as a template for locating the mounting points on the cast …
The fan provides necessary cooling and ventilation for the new shop floor of Machine Guard & Cover Company. Unfortunately, the exposed fan blades and belt and pulley system create an unsafe work environment. Proper guarding will be required to maintain the guard functionality without impeding shop floor safety. At any shop, floor space is at …
Point guarding addresses a single hazard location of a power transmission system with a physical barrier. This is a very common type of machine guarding solution. Point guarding has many benefits in addition to the safety provided by the guard. Maintenance staff and operators can work close to a machine to perform their tasks. Point …
Locations that contain very large moving assemblies may require an enclosure guarding system. This technique, also known as barrier guarding or area guarding, creates a large barrier around the entire assembly instead of just the hazard location. Access points to the enclosure should be secured following company policy, such as a personal or departmental lock. …
The Challenge Machine Guard & Cover Co. was asked by the Army Corps of Engineers in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to bring seven pump and motor coupling assemblies up to current ANSI B11.19-2010 guarding safety standards. The couplings were covered by bent metal covers that were installed years ago and no longer provided adequate protection …
The bipartisan budget, passed by both the House and the Senate and signed by President Obama on November 2, 2015, contains provisions that will raise OSHA penalties for the first time in 25 years. The changes in the budget go into effect in 2016, with the new penalties coming into effect by August 1, 2016. …
