Your employees are safe at work
Conveyors can be very useful in moving materials and supplies around a facility. They can also cause injury in plants. This list contains safety tips that will keep you and your coworkers protected.
- Do not sit, stand, or move on conveyors
A person should never use a conveyer.
Many features of conveyors include pinch points, which can catch clothes or people and cause serious injury. A pinch point can cause severe injury or even death to a limb. Conveyors in industrial settings are not meant for people.
- Conveyor controls that aren’t working properly can lead to serious problems.
To ensure that employees don’t misuse, modify, or disconnect conveyor controls, inspect them. Controls should be simple to read and use.
You should place emergency stops in easily accessible and visible locations.
- Avoid exposing hair, clothing, jewelry, and other items to the elements.
Conveyors can cause severe injuries if they catch long hair or loose clothes. Long hair should be tucked or tied back.
Avoid wearing bracelets, rings, and watches, or any other jewelry. Don’t wear baggy clothes. Take off ties and tuck them into your shirt.
- Verify that all conveyor guards have been installed
If guards aren’t securely mounted, don’t use a conveyor. Conveyors can contain chains, gears, and belts that could pose a danger if they are not properly secured. Employees shouldn’t be able to bypass, remove or alter conveyor guards.
Workers should not be allowed to enter dangerous areas through guard openings.
- Only authorized personnel can operate or maintain the conveyor.
This ensures that technicians are safe and maximizes conveyor performance. If you don’t know how to use material handling equipment safely, it can pose a danger.
Contact Conveying & Hoisting Solutions specialist if you need to fix something. Only employees with the necessary training should be able to operate and maintain conveyors. These safety tips will help you share your knowledge with your employees.
- Pay attention to pinch points Conveyors can be filled with pinch points simply by their very nature.
Conveyors can contain chains, gears, and belts that could pose a danger if they are not properly secured.
Employees shouldn’t be able to bypass, remove or alter conveyor guards. Workers should not be allowed to enter dangerous areas through guard openings.
- Alert management of potential safety and operational concerns
A person riding the conveyor is not safe. Alert the person responsible for the situation to correct any loose guards or persons riding on the conveyor. It is important to identify who the point person is and how they can be reached.
All employees should receive training on safety and how to report them.
- Employers are at risk of serious injury if they fail to follow lock-out/tag-out procedures
Follow proper lock-out/Tag out procedures to secure conveyor systems before maintenance or repair.
Equipment cannot be powered up during maintenance or repairs if it is locked out/tagged out.
To perform lock-out/tag-out procedures, conveyor operators should be properly trained.
Safety Tips for Workers
Keeps safety flowing?
Employers can take proactive measures to improve conveyor safety, energy control procedures, and hazard mitigation plans. Here are some tips for improving conveyor safety:
Conveyor arrangement: What is the best way to increase safety and workflow? From top to bottom, analyze the conveyor system’s layout. To prevent injuries from falling objects, ensure that safety netting and railings are in place. Use enclosures, floor signs, and/or floor marking to keep workers away from dangerous areas.
Machine guarding: Check for potential danger points where workers and conveyors could come in contact. Conveyor guarding is needed where conveyor lines intersect with roller sections. You can communicate your caution to workers by posting a pinch sign or another machine safety warning sign.
Maintenance: Make sure that workers adhere to a maintenance plan. A strict lockout/Tag out policy should be implemented. Before the startup of any device, a warning signal should be activated. Workers should be aware of the locations of emergency stoppers and start controls.
Training: Provide training to workers to prevent injuries from conveyor systems. Instruct workers on how to avoid coming in contact with conveyors or their pinch points. Workers should keep their fingers, clothes, and hair from the conveyor lines. Workers shouldn’t ever sit, stand, or climb on conveyors. To ensure that workers are safe on conveyors, teach them about the sounds of conveyor alarms.
Personal Protection Equipment PPE can be the last line of defense but it can make a big difference. Workers should wear the proper hard hat, gloves, and safety shoes. Make sure your PPE is in good working order. Avoid jewelry like watches, rings, or bracelets that could catch.
