Machine Safety
Chapter 296-806, WAC |
Effective
Date: 01/01/05 |
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296-806-300
Requirements for Specific Machine Hazards |
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You must

REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC MACHINE HAZARDS
WAC 296-806-30002
Fit arbors and mandrels to the machine
You must
- Make sure that arbors and mandrels:
- – Have firm and secure bearing
- – Are free from play
- Only place or mount attachments on a machine
arbor that have been accurately machined to the correct size
and shape.
WAC 296-806-30004
Safeguard belt and rope drives
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Exemption:
- You don't need to safeguard the following
types of belts when they're operating at 250 linear feet
per minute or less:
- – Flat belts that are:
- One inch wide or less
- Two inches wide or less and
have no metal lacings or fastener
- – Round belts ½ inch
or less in diameter
- – Single-strand v-belts 13/32
inch wide or less
- You don't need to safeguard belts that
are in a room, vault, or similar space that contains only
power transmission parts or equipment if the space:
- – Is controlled by lock and
key or has similarly restricted access that allows
only authorized persons to enter
- – Is well lit
- – Has a dry, level, and firm
floor
- – Has a well-marked route
with a vertical clearance of at least 5 feet 6 inches
for authorized employees to follow to perform their
duties
- You don't need to safeguard belt drives
of light or medium duty sewing machines if all
of the following apply:
- – It uses either a flat or
a round belt without metal lacings and fasteners
- – The belt is located above
the table top
- – The table top is designed
so that employees near the machine aren't exposed
to motion hazards while they work or as they pass
by
- – The machine isn't used to
sew heavy materials such as leather, canvas, denim,
or vinyl
- – The operators’ hands
are not in, near, or on the wheel, nip point, belt
area, or other motion hazard when the machine is operating
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Reference:
You may need to follow additional requirements
for sewing machines. See Sewing Machines, WAC
296-806-485, later in this chapter for more information. |
You must
- Safeguard belt or rope drives that are 7
feet or less above the floor or working surface.
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Reference:
- In the absence of a specific safeguarding
method, follow the safeguarding requirements found in
Safeguarding Methods, WAC
296-806-20042 through 296-806-20058.
Examples of safeguarding methods include:
- – Guards
- – Devices
- – Safeguarding by distance
- – Safeguarding by location
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Note:
- You may use a nip point and pulley guard
on a vertical or inclined belt if it meets all
of the following requirements:
- – 2 ½ inches wide or
less
- – Running at a speed of less
than 1,000 feet per minute
- – Free from metal lacings
or fastenings
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You must
- Safeguard overhead belts located more than
7 feet above the floor or working surface if any of
the following apply:
- – The belt is located over a passageway
or work space and travels at a speed of 1800 feet per minute
or more
- – The distance between the centers
of its pulleys is 10 feet or more
- – The belt is wider than 8 inches.
- Safeguard the space between the upper and
lower runs of a horizontal belt if there's enough room for an
employee to pass between them by providing both:
- – A guard along the upper run to
keep the belt from contacting the worker or anything they
may be carrying
- and
- – A platform over the lower run
that has a railing that's completely filled in with wire
mesh or other filler or by a solid barrier.
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Note:
- The passage between the 2 belts
is considered safeguarded if you completely block
it with a guardrail or other barrier.
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Exemption:
- In a power generating room, only
the lower run of a horizontal belt has to be safeguarded.
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WAC 296-806-30006
Make sure belt or rope drives meet these
requirements
You must
1) Use an idler when your machine
uses a quarter-twist belt that can run in either direction.
2) Make sure, when it is necessary to apply
dressing to moving belts or ropes, that you apply the dressing
at a point where the belts or ropes leave the pulley.
3) Make sure that a belt shifted by hand
is not fastened with metal or other material
that creates a hazard.
4) Make sure a bearing support that's next
to a friction clutch or cutoff coupling has self-lubricating bearings
that don't need frequent attention.
5) Use a substantial belt perch, such as
a bracket or roller, when it isn't practical to use a loose pulley
or idler to keep idle belts away from shafts.
WAC 296-806-30008
Protect employees while shifting belts on
belt and pulley drives
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Exemption:
- A belt shifter isn't required on a belt
and pulley system if:
- – It was installed on or before
August 17, 1971
or
- – The belt and pulley drive
meets all of these requirements:
- The belt is endless or laced
with rawhide
- A nip point guard in front
of the cone safeguards the nip point of the
belt and pulley
- The nip point guard extends
at least to the top of the largest step of the
cone and is formed to show the contour of the
cone
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Definition:
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You must
1) Provide a permanent mechanical belt shifter
on belt drives that use either:
- Tight and loose (drive and idler) pulleys
or
- A cone pulley.
2) Protect employees from the nip point
of the belt and pulley by either:
- The belt shifter or clutch handle
or
- A vertical guard in front of the pulley
that extends at least to the top of the largest step of the
cone.
3) Make sure a belt shifter or clutch handle
is:
- Rounded to keep the operator from being
injured
- Easy to reach
- Positioned to reduce the chance of being
accidentally moved
- Located either:
- – Over the machine
or
- – Not higher than 6 feet 6 inches
above the floor.
4) Make sure each belt shifter or clutch
handle of the same type in your workplace moves in the same direction
to stop a machine, that is, either all right or all left.
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Exemption:
- A friction clutch handle on a countershaft
carrying 2 clutch pulleys with open and crossed belts
isn't required to move in the same direction as all other
clutch handles or belt shifters if:
- – The clutch handle has 3
positions
and
- – The machine is at rest when
the clutch handle is in the center position.
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You must
5) Use a belt shifter to shift a belt on
and off a fixed pulley.
- When a belt shifter can't be used, you may
use a belt pole if it's both:
- – Smooth
and
- – Large enough to grasp securely
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Note:
- A belt pole is also known as a
“belt shipper” or “shipper pole.”
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You must
6) Provide a locking-type belt shifter or
other positive securing device on woodworking machines driven
by belts and shafting.
WAC 296-806-30010
Make sure belt tighteners meet these requirements
You must
- Make sure belt tighteners:
- – Are substantially constructed
and securely fastened
- – Have bearings that are securely
capped
- – Have a mechanism to prevent them
from falling
- Make sure belt tighteners used to activate
machinery are securely held in the “off” position
by either:
- – Gravity
or
- – An automatic mechanism that must
be released by hand
WAC 296-806-30012
Safeguard cams, connecting rods, tail rods,
and extension piston rods
You must
- Safeguard cams, connecting rods, tail rods,
or extension piston rods that could be contacted by employees.
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Reference:
- In the absence of a specific safeguarding
method, follow the safeguarding requirements found in
Safeguarding Methods, WAC
296-806-20042 through 296-806-20058.
Examples of safeguarding methods include:
- – Guards
- – Devices
- – Safeguarding by distance
- – Safeguarding by location
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You must
- Make sure guardrails used to safeguard the
side or ends of rods are at least 15 inches away from the rod
when it's fully extended.
WAC 296-806-30014
Safeguard chain and sprocket drives
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Exemption:
- This section doesn't apply to hand-operated
sprockets.
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You must
- Enclose chains and sprocket wheels
that are 7 feet or less above the floor or working surface.
- Make sure chain and sprocket drive enclosures
that extend over machine or other working areas protect workers
from falling drive parts.
WAC 296-806-30016
Safeguard fan blades
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Reference:
- In the absence of a specific safeguarding
method, follow the safeguarding requirements found in
Safeguarding Methods, WAC
296-806-20042 through 296-806-20058.
Examples of safeguarding methods include:
- – Guards
- – Devices
- – Safeguarding by distance
- – Safeguarding by location
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Exemption:
- A fan is considered guarded if it meets
all of the following requirements:
- – It's in a basement, tower,
or room locked against unauthorized entrance.
- – The vertical clearance in
passageways between the floor and power transmission
beams, ceiling, or any other objects, isn't less than
5 feet 6 inches.
- – The intensity of illumination
must be a minimum of 10 foot candles when the area
is occupied.
- – The footing is dry, firm,
and level.
- – The route followed by the
oiler or authorized personnel is protected in such
a manner as to prevent accident.
- – The periphery of the fan
blade is covered by a shroud.
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You must
- Protect employees from exposure to
the blades of any fan less than 7 feet above the floor or working
surface.
- Prevent rods, pipes, or other material being
handled by workers, from contacting moving fan blades.
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Reference:
- For guard opening requirements, see
Table 200-1, Largest
Allowable Guard Opening, in Make Sure Guards Meet
These Requirements, WAC
296-806-20042.
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WAC 296-806-30018
Safeguard flywheels
You must
- Safeguard flywheels that have any part of
the wheel 7 feet or less above the floor or working surface
with either:
- – An enclosure
or
- – A guardrail, at least 15 inches
but no more than 20 inches from the rim
- Make sure enclosures that safeguard
flywheels located above a working area are strong enough to
hold the weight of the wheel, if a shaft or wheel mounting fails.
- Provide a toeboard on guardrails used to
safeguard flywheels that have any part of the wheel within 12
inches of the floor or working surface.
- Do both of the following to safeguard spoked
flywheels that are 5 feet or less in diameter with smooth rims,
when enclosures or guardrails can't be used:
- – Cover the spokes on the exposed
side of the wheel with a disk guard that creates a smooth
surface and edge
and
- – Remove or cover keys or other
dangerous projections on the wheel that aren't covered by
the disk guard
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Exemption:
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WAC 296-806-30020
Safeguard gears
You must
- Safeguard gears that are 7 feet or
less above the floor or working surface.
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Reference:
- In the absence of a specific safeguarding
method, follow the safeguarding requirements found in
Safeguarding Methods, WAC
296-806-20042 through 296-806-20058.
Examples of safeguarding methods include:
- – Guards
- – Devices
- – Safeguarding by distance
- – Safeguarding by location
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Exemption:
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WAC 296-806-30022
Safeguard projections on moving parts
You must
- Safeguard projections on moving parts such
as keys, setscrews, bolts, and nuts, by:
- – Removing them
- – Making them flush
- – Guarding with metal covers
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Exemption:
- This requirement doesn't apply
to keys or setscrews that are:
- – Within an enclosure
- – Below the plane of
the rim of a pulley that's less than 20 inches
in diameter
- – Located where employee
contact isn't possible
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WAC 296-806-30024
Safeguard pulleys
You must
- Safeguard pulleys that have any part of the
pulley 7 feet or less above the floor or working surface.
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Exemption:
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Reference:
- In the absence of a specific safeguarding
method, follow the safeguarding requirements found in
Safeguarding Methods,
WAC 296-806-20042 through 296-806-20058.
Examples of safeguarding methods include:
- – Guards
- – Devices
- – Safeguarding by distance
- – Safeguarding by location
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WAC 296-806-30026
Make sure pulleys meet these requirements
You must
1) Make sure pulleys are designed
and balanced for the speed at which they operate.
2) Make sure not to use
pulleys that are cracked or have a piece broken out of the rim.
WAC 296-806-30028
Safeguard revolving drums, barrels, and
containers
You must
- Safeguard revolving drums, barrels, or containers
by an enclosure that's interlocked with the drive mechanism
so that they can't revolve unless the enclosure is in place.
WAC 296-806-30030
Safeguard shafting
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Exemption:
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You must
- Enclose shafting that is 7 feet or
less above the floor or working surface.
- Make sure projecting shaft ends either:
- – Have a smooth edge, smooth end,
and project no more than ½ the diameter of the shaft
or
- – Are guarded by a non-rotating
cap or safety sleeve
- Safeguard shafting under a bench or table
by enclosing it in a stationary casing or by using a trough
with sides that both:
- – Cover the shafting to within 6
inches of the bottom of the table or to within 6 inches
of the floor or working surface, whichever is appropriate
and
- – Extend 2 inches beyond the end
of the shafting.
WAC 296-806-30032
Make sure shafting meets these requirements
You must
1) Keep shafting free of:
- Excessive oil or grease
- Rust or pitting from corrosion
2) Secure shafting against excessive endwise
movement.
WAC 296-806-30034
Safeguard unused keyways
You must
- Fill, cover, or otherwise safeguard
all unused keyways.
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Reference:
- In the absence of a specific safeguarding
method, follow the safeguarding requirements found in
Safeguarding Methods, WAC
296-806-20042 through 296-806-20058.
Examples of safeguarding methods include:
- – Guards
- – Devices
- – Safeguarding by distance
- – Safeguarding by location
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WAC 296-806-30036
Make sure revolving collars meet these requirements
You must
- Make sure revolving collars are cylindrical.
- Make sure screws or bolts used in the collar
do not project beyond the outside of the collar.
WAC 296-806-30038
Safeguard counterweights
You must
- Provide safeguarding for all counterweights
where employees are exposed to contact.
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Reference:
- In the absence of a specific safeguarding
method, follow the safeguarding requirements found in
Safeguarding Methods, WAC
296-806-20042 through 296-806-20058.
Examples of safeguarding methods include:
- – Guards
- – Devices
- – Safeguarding by distance
- – Safeguarding by location
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