An Overview of Perimeter Safeguarding

Perimeter safeguarding is perhaps the simplest, most affordable way to create a safer workplace for your employees. No matter the industry, installing perimeter safeguarding around hazardous areas — such as robotic cells, processing lines, press brakes, shears, welders, and other heavy machinery — can significantly reduce the risk of injury by preventing employees from encountering…

What to Do if You are Issued an OSHA Citation

The Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) is the federal agency responsible for overseeing workplace safety. On the federal level, OSHA conducted 24,333 inspections in 2021. Of these 24,333 inspections, 10,584 (about 43 percent) were programmed inspections that focused OSHA’s enforcement resources towards industries and operations where known hazards exist. If a violation is discovered…

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Do Your Machines Have Anti-Restart Protection? Here’s How to Find Out

ROCKFORD, IL, JULY 19, 2022 — In order to meet certain regulations, and as a best safety practice, machinery must be prevented from automatically or unintentionally restarting when an unscheduled power interruption occurs. The safety regulations that reference preventing accidental operation can be found in OSHA 1910.217 (b)(8)(ii) and ANSI B11.1-2009 (6)(2)(3). OSHA 1910 Subpart…

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What The Wave of Retiring Machinists Means to Plant Safety

ROCKFORD, IL, MAY 17, 2022 – Within the next decade approximately 2.7 million “Baby Boomers” (b. 1946-1964) will retire, thereby ensuring that tens of thousands of skilled, well-paid positions will become available without a ready supply of American workers to fill them. Statistics paint an especially gloomy picture for the manufacturing sector, a widening of…

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Machine Safeguarding Technology Keep Operators Out of a Pinch

ROCKFORD, IL, APRIL 25, 2022 —  Pinching your finger in a door can be painful but certainly not life threatening. Pinch point injuries involving industrial machinery are another story, one that rarely has a happy ending. A pinch point is created when two objects come together and there is a possibility that a person could be…

Rockford Systems Introduces Protector Series Light Curtains with Expanded Features

Reliable detection, advanced safety functions, combined with simplified selection, installation and maintenance ROCKFORD, IL, FEBRUARY 3, 2022 — Rockford Systems, LLC today introduced its new Protector Series Light Curtains for safeguarding personnel near industrial machinery with the potential to cause injury. Protector Series Light Curtains feature bi-color alignment indicators, simplified resolution settings, automatic diagnostics, remote…

Ten Tips for Safeguarding Your Shop’s Metal Lathes

Operators of lathes are one of the largest machine worker populations in the United States, estimated to account for over 140,000 machinists. Of this population, approximately 3,000 suffer lost-time injuries annually in the United States. Some of these are fatal. These accidents occur in large industrial settings and factories, as well as in much smaller…

OSHA, Happy Golden Anniversary!

The Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 29, 1970 – that measure that created OSHA – gave the federal government the authority to set and enforce safety and health standards for most of the country’s workers. The agency’s responsibilities include private sector employers and their…

Lack of Machine Guarding Again Named to OSHA’S Top 10 Most Cited Violations List

Every year around this time, the awards season kicks off with the Emmys, Golden Globes and the grand daddy of them all, the Oscars, eagerly announcing their lists of nominations. At the same time — and on a far more somber note — another roll call is issued, this one from the Occupational Safety &…

Machine Risk Assessment vs. Safeguarding Assessment? Start 2021 off on the right safety foot.

When it comes to accidents, manufacturing ranks second highest of all industries. That comes despite OSHA regulations and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. A key culprit is unguarded hazardous machinery. OSHA issues thousands of citations and levies millions of dollars in fines for machine safeguarding violations in an attempt to prevent injuries and save…