Machinery guarding design

Poor machine guarding practices are a major hazard confronted by people every day. About 8 out of 10 workplace fatalities and 1 in 4 workplace injuries involve mechanical equipment.

Machinery safety comes under many headings you can look at Machine Guards, Machine Guarding, Machinery Guards. Regardless of the headings all do one thing they come up with a guarding system/solution that protects the employees from injury.

Hazards generally occur in one of three locations:

1. Point of operation, which is the location where the machine actually works on material, such as cutting, bending, pressing etc.
2. Power transmission devices that mechanically transmit power from one location to another such as shafts, belts and pulleys, chains and sprockets.
3. Other moving parts such as feed mechanisms, part removal systems and auxiliary parts of the machine or system.

Each of the three locations will have a bearing on what type of guard can be utilised. For example, a power transmission device may require a fixed guard that is bolted in place and rarely has need of removal except for infrequent repair work. A point of operation guard may need to be opened each time a part is made and would be better served by an interlocked guard or some form of electronic guarding that stops mechanical motion rather than a fixed guard that needs to be removed with tools.

What we offer is a designed guarding system that will fit your single machine or complete production line and a system that your employee will be happy to work with. Machinery guarding system should not affect the operation of the machine or the employee association with the machine.   Working in the industry of machine safety since 1989, LRM Consultancy have been involved with many styles of machine guarding and safety systems, having seen the best and the worst of machinery guarding and associated systems.

We offer machine guarding safety audits from a single machine to your most complex production line.

• Assistance with guard manufacture onsite or arranged manufacture offsite.
• Assistance with electrical safety systems to AS3000 / AS4024.1

• Defence Accredited Test Service (Monegeetta)
• Qantas Defence Services (Canberra,Villawood, Richmond)
• PEC (Laverton Nth)
• Australian Defence Ind (Lithgow)
• Defence Industries (Banaianna)
• RAAF (Amberley & Townsville)