The Fencing of Dangerous Parts of Machinery

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The Factories Act, 1937, introduced higher standards of general “fencing” or safeguarding requirements for machinery, and gave legal recognition to types of guards other than those of the fixed type. During the past forty years, more attention has been devoted by machinery designers to the incorporation of guards to dangerous parts, but it is considered that more could be done in the future. Safety engineering is advancing in experience and practice, and is receiving an impetus by the appointment of safety officers and safety committees by many important firms. In order to assist all concerned to an appreciation of those parts of machinery that the experience of the Factory Department for over 100 years has proved to be dangerous, certain axioms, applicable to various parts, or combinations of parts, of dangerous machinery are formulated, together with some principles of fencing. The object is to place in the hands of those who design machinery, or who have the responsibility of accident prevention in a factory, some guiding principles for application to their problems. The principles of fencing are exemplified by illustrations of a few representative types of guards in present use, but such references are necessarily brief and are of but a few applications of the general principles. The requirements of the Act are in general terms, and compliance can be given in many ways, for which the paper is intended to give general guidance.