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Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing vocabulary · Plant Safety

Machine guarding

Meaning in industrial engineering & manufacturing, with examples

nounCommon term

In industrial engineering & manufacturing, machine guarding means: Physical barriers and safety devices, such as fixed covers, interlocked doors and light curtains, that keep people away from the dangerous moving parts of machines.

In Turkish: makine koruyucuları, makine muhafazası, makine koruma

How it is used

A frequent topic in safety audits and new machine approvals. Guards must not be removed or bypassed, and an interlock stops the machine when a door opens. People install, check and repair guarding, and report missing or damaged guards.

Example sentences

  1. The audit found that the machine guarding on the old lathe had been removed and never replaced.

  2. Never bypass machine guarding to clear a jam; stop the machine and lock it out.

Common collocations

  • fixed guard
  • interlocked guard
  • bypass a guard
  • light curtain
  • machine guarding inspection
  • lockout/tagoutA safety procedure in which machines are shut off and their energy sources are locked and tagged before maintenance, so they cannot be started by accident. Shortened to LOTO.
  • emergency stopA large red button or switch, usually on a yellow background, that stops a machine as quickly as possible in a dangerous situation. Shortened to E-stop.
  • hazardAnything that could cause harm, injury or ill health, such as moving machine parts, chemicals, noise, electricity or a wet floor.
  • risk assessmentA careful review of a task or area to find the hazards, judge how likely and how serious harm would be, and decide what controls are needed.

More terms: Plant Safety

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