Risk assessment

dploof23 · Jan 6, 2012

Hello all,

I am currently in the process of commisioning a new machine and the other day our loss prevention guy from our insurance agency came in to look at the machine. He asked that a certain area of the machine be guarded with an interlock of some sort. This area he wants guarded has very little potential for injury. In fact this machine is a new version of an existing machine we have been running for 20 years with no guarding there. No one has been hurt in that portion of the machine in 20 years. The insurance guy said he realizes there is little potential for danger but we should "take it off the table all together. I wouldn't mind guarding it except it hinders the process and makes adjustments difficult.

Does anyone know of a good risk assessment form for industrial machinery? We are hoping if we conduct a risk assessment and determine there isn't a guard needed we can reason with the insurance guy. I searched on line for a form but didn't really see anything good.

Thanks for the help,

-Dave

dskohio · Jan 6, 2012

dploof23 said:
Hello all,

I am currently in the process of commisioning a new machine and the other day our loss prevention guy from our insurance agency came in to look at the machine. He asked that a certain area of the machine be guarded with an interlock of some sort. This area he wants guarded has very little potential for injury. In fact this machine is a new version of an existing machine we have been running for 20 years with no guarding there. No one has been hurt in that portion of the machine in 20 years. The insurance guy said he realizes there is little potential for danger but we should "take it off the table all together. I wouldn't mind guarding it except it hinders the process and makes adjustments difficult.

Does anyone know of a good risk assessment form for industrial machinery? We are hoping if we conduct a risk assessment and determine there isn't a guard needed we can reason with the insurance guy. I searched on line for a form but didn't really see anything good.

Thanks for the help,

-Dave

https://www.industry.siemens.com/to...ety/safety-evaluation-tool/Pages/Default.aspx

leitmotif · Jan 6, 2012

dploof23 said:
Hello all,

I am currently in the process of commisioning a new machine and the other day our loss prevention guy from our insurance agency came in to look at the machine. He asked that a certain area of the machine be guarded with an interlock of some sort. This area he wants guarded has very little potential for injury. In fact this machine is a new version of an existing machine we have been running for 20 years with no guarding there. No one has been hurt in that portion of the machine in 20 years. The insurance guy said he realizes there is little potential for danger but we should "take it off the table all together. I wouldn't mind guarding it except it hinders the process and makes adjustments difficult.

Does anyone know of a good risk assessment form for industrial machinery? We are hoping if we conduct a risk assessment and determine there isn't a guard needed we can reason with the insurance guy. I searched on line for a form but didn't really see anything good. Thanks for the help, -Dave

Allen Bradly / Rockwell had some good info also.

20 years and no injury sounds good BUT
you have been either just lucky or have smart operators.
Accidents are like an albatross around your neck or Herpes - once you get one it just wont go away - increased premiums, the state or OSHA comes around asking questions, loss of employee trust etc etc.

In addition consider
1. The insurance guy has advised you do this
2. IF something goes wrong and someone get hurt
3. The state or OSHA are very unmerciful when doing accident investigations - especially a fatal. I know - I did a few fatals.
4. The state or OSHA - if the insurance guy rats you out - can now state you had knowledge and this becomes a willful violation - and they are NOT cheap compared to a regular citation.

Send picture of machine and I would be better able to help. Yes I am experienced educated in safety and hygiene.

I agree - every time you add a safety gizmo it creates more headache.

To get a bit pragmatic
You can hire a consultant and argue with the insurance guy and maybe win
You can install interlock at a small cost maybe ?? and save in long run.
You can continue taking your chances and keep arguing with insurance guy (who can raise your rates if he deems high risk) BUT how much money are you losing in each argument??

Dan Bentler

RussB · Jan 6, 2012

Consider something like this, it may cost a little more but it will not interfere if done right.

jdbrandt · Jan 6, 2012

dploof23 said:
Hello all,

I am currently in the process of commisioning a new machine and the other day our loss prevention guy from our insurance agency came in to look at the machine. He asked that a certain area of the machine be guarded with an interlock of some sort. This area he wants guarded has very little potential for injury. In fact this machine is a new version of an existing machine we have been running for 20 years with no guarding there. No one has been hurt in that portion of the machine in 20 years. The insurance guy said he realizes there is little potential for danger but we should "take it off the table all together. I wouldn't mind guarding it except it hinders the process and makes adjustments difficult.

Does anyone know of a good risk assessment form for industrial machinery? We are hoping if we conduct a risk assessment and determine there isn't a guard needed we can reason with the insurance guy. I searched on line for a form but didn't really see anything good.

Thanks for the help,

-Dave

The Robotics Industy Association has really good ones that would work. I mean, you "could" call your machine a robot, and that would be an exotic and extreme level of protection. They talk of 'size of opening' and compare it with "speed of opject that can do harm"...

dploof23 · Jan 7, 2012

leitmotif said:
Allen Bradly / Rockwell had some good info also.

20 years and no injury sounds good BUT
you have been either just lucky or have smart operators.
Accidents are like an albatross around your neck or Herpes - once you get one it just wont go away - increased premiums, the state or OSHA comes around asking questions, loss of employee trust etc etc.

In addition consider
1. The insurance guy has advised you do this
2. IF something goes wrong and someone get hurt
3. The state or OSHA are very unmerciful when doing accident investigations - especially a fatal. I know - I did a few fatals.
4. The state or OSHA - if the insurance guy rats you out - can now state you had knowledge and this becomes a willful violation - and they are NOT cheap compared to a regular citation.

Send picture of machine and I would be better able to help. Yes I am experienced educated in safety and hygiene.

I agree - every time you add a safety gizmo it creates more headache.

To get a bit pragmatic
You can hire a consultant and argue with the insurance guy and maybe win
You can install interlock at a small cost maybe ?? and save in long run.
You can continue taking your chances and keep arguing with insurance guy (who can raise your rates if he deems high risk) BUT how much money are you losing in each argument??

Dan Bentler

Thanks for the reply,

I think based on what you said here we will be guarding this area with a light curtain.

It will make working on the machine more difficult, but to err on the side of safety is the way to go.

Thanks for the help

-Dave

OkiePC · Jan 7, 2012

I like the information on risk assessment availablie from STI (as well as their excellent products).

http://www.sti.com/news/risk-assessment.htm

They make outstanding light curtains that may be superior to mechanical guarding with regard to keeping a process running as efficiently as possible while mitigating risks.

Not being able to see your process or the environment, we can't really tell you which way to go, but I think you can have the best of both worlds with modern safety equipment.

Risk assessment

dploof23

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dskohio

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leitmotif

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RussB

Lifetime Supporting Member

jdbrandt

Lifetime Supporting Member

dploof23

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OkiePC

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