ABSTRACT
Engineering controls to prevent human contact with hazardous machine motion are a vital element in working safely with machinery. In the hierarchy of steps that can be taken to prevent injury, engineered controls are less effective than eliminating the energy source entirely. Nevertheless, they are more effective than personal protective equipment or training. Typically, the safety professional’s job, as a machinery builder, user, or modifier, is not to design machine safety devices, but to effectively apply purchased devices. The user should understand the limitations of particular devices and should select and use only those devices that eliminate task risks or reduce them to an acceptable level. This chapter is organized under the following headings: (1) introduction; (2) hazardous machine motion; (3) injury risks; (4) safeguarding; (5) safeguard reliability; and (6) safeguarding and mode of actuation.
