OSHA 1910.217 - Mechanical Power Presses

What OSHA 1910.217 covers

29 CFR 1910.217 applies to mechanical power presses. It does not apply to press brakes, hydraulic and pneumatic power presses, bulldozers, hot bending and hot metal presses, forging presses and hammers, riveting machines, and similar fastener applicators (1910.217(a)(5)). Those machines remain subject to the general machine guarding requirements of 1910.212.

Press construction

• Machine components must be designed, secured or covered to minimize hazards from breakage, loosening and falling, or the release of mechanical energy such as broken springs (1910.217(b)(1)).
• Friction brakes must be inherently self-engaging and require power from an external source to disengage, with enough capacity to stop the slide quickly and hold it at any point in its travel (1910.217(b)(2)).

Point-of-operation safeguarding

• The employer must provide and ensure the use of point-of-operation guards or properly applied and adjusted point-of-operation devices on every operation performed on a mechanical power press (1910.217(c)(1)(i)).
• This requirement does not apply when the point-of-operation opening is one-fourth inch or less (1910.217(c)(1)(ii)).
• Acceptable devices include presence-sensing devices, pullbacks, sweeps, holdouts and restraints, two-hand controls and two-hand trips, depending on the type of clutch and the operation.
• Presence-sensing devices must not be used on presses with full-revolution clutches, and must be placed at a safety distance of at least 63 inches per second multiplied by the press stopping time (1910.217(c)(3)(iii)).
• Two-hand controls must likewise be located at a safety distance based on the stopping time of the press (1910.217(c)(3)(vii)).

Inspection, training and reporting

• Each press must be inspected and tested at least weekly to check the clutch/brake mechanism, antirepeat feature and single-stroke mechanism, with certification records kept (1910.217(e)(1)(ii)).
• Operators must be trained and instructed in the safe method of work before starting an operation, and supervised to make sure correct operating procedures are followed (1910.217(f)(2)).
• Point-of-operation injuries to operators or other employees must be reported to OSHA within 30 days (1910.217(g)).

ANSI B11.1 covers mechanical power press construction and safeguarding in more detail; see ANSI B11.1 - Mechanical Power Presses. Odiz offers press safety controls and press guarding.