This guidance promotes safe work practices to reduce the risk of injuries associated with the operation, maintenance, and use of machinery and equipment. Machine hazards may exist in maintenance shops, laboratories, agricultural operations, facilities management, and other work areas where powered or mechanically operated equipment is used. Common machine hazards include rotating parts, pinch points, nip points, shear points, cutting hazards, crushing hazards, flying objects, and the unexpected startup or movement of equipment.
Employees should only operate machinery for which they have been authorized, trained, and certified (when required) Machinery shall be operated in accordance with established standard operating procedures (SOPs), manufacturer instructions, and applicable University safety requirements. Employees shall wear the required personal protective equipment (PPE), ensure machine guards and safety devices remain in place and functioning properly, and immediately remove damaged or malfunctioning equipment from service and report it to their supervisor.
EHS assists departments by providing guidance on machine hazard recognition, applicable OSHA requirements, and best practices to help reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring employees receive the required training before operating machinery, maintaining applicable training records, and providing those records upon request by authorized university personnel or regulatory agencies.
Common Machine Safety Hazards
- Rotating parts – shafts, spindles, chucks, couplings, and other moving components that can catch clothing, jewelry, hair, or body parts.
- Pinch and nip points – locations where body parts can become caught between moving machine components or between moving and stationary objects.
- Cutting and shearing hazards – blades, saws, cutters, and other equipment capable of causing lacerations or amputations.
- Crushing hazards – moving machinery, presses, rollers, or equipment capable of striking or compressing employees.
- Flying or ejected materials – chips, debris, broken tooling, or workpieces that may become airborne during operation.
- Unexpected startup or stored energy – hazardous energy that can cause equipment to move unexpectedly during servicing or maintenance. Employees performing servicing or maintenance requiring the control of hazardous energy shall follow the University’s Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures.
- Entanglement hazards – Loose clothing, gloves, jewelry, neckties, long hair, or other items that may become caught in moving machine parts.
Employees should report workplace incidents, near misses, and safety concerns to EHS. If the incident resulted in a workplace injury or illness that must also be reported to Human Resources (HR) in accordance with university requirements.
