Conveyor Safety

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Conveyors are used to move products and supplies in and out of a work site, from one part of the plant to another, and between workstations. Conveyors are found in all kinds of assembly operations, ranging from microelectronics to the agricultural industry. Conveyors can be powered or unpowered, roller or belt, overhead or on the floor. Factors such as the conveyor's height, width, speed, and position in relation to the worker determine the overall workload and the way workers do their job. To lessen the likelihood of adverse effects when working on a conveyor line, ergonomic and design issues have to be considered.

Employer duties

Employers have a duty to take every reasonable precaution to protect the occupational health and safety of persons at or near the workplace. This duty includes ensuring that workers are made familiar with the proper use of all safety features or devices, equipment, and clothing required for their protection. [OHS Act, S. 12(1)(a)(b)(e)]

There are many hazards associated with working at or near a conveyor, including:

  • Rotating parts or pinch points can drag in, crush or entangle.
  • Confinement or assembly areas (the area between a fixed object and a moving one) can shear or crush.
  • Parts that slide or reciprocate (press down) can crush or shear.
  • Items can break or be ejected (thrown from) the conveyor system.
  • Items can fall off the conveyor.
  • Electrical, fire or explosion hazards.

To reduce exposure to these hazards, the employer should:

  • Identify risk factors in the workplace in consultation with the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee or Health and Safety Representative as applicable.
  • Evaluate the risk to workers by consulting with employees affected and those who do similar work.
  • Ensure that employees are competent and trained to identify risk factors and the early signs and symptoms of injuries and the correct use of control measures when working with conveyors.
  • Monitor the effectiveness of control measures.

Employers must specifically make sure that:

  • Where a pedal is used to operate a clutch or belt shifter, it is guarded so that it cannot be struck accidentally and activate the machine. [OHS General Regs., S. 30.4(2)]
  • Each pair of active and idler pulleys has a permanent belt shifter which has a mechanical means to prevent the belt from creeping. [OHS General Regs., S. 30.4(3)]
  • Effective safeguards are provided where a worker may come into contact with moving belts, rollers, gears, drive-shafts, keyways, pulleys, sprockets, chains, ropes, spindles, drums, counterweights, flywheels or couplings on machinery, pinch points, and cutting edges. [OHS General Regs., S. 30.9(1)]
  • Conveyers are constructed and installed so that there is enough clearance between the material transported and a fixed or moving object, there are no hazardous shearing points between moving and stationary parts, and one conveyer cannot feed onto a stopped conveyer. [OHS General Regs., S. 30.16(1)]
  • When a worker has access to a power driven conveyer, it must be provided with emergency stop devices at loading and unloading stations, drive and take up sections, and other convenient places along the run of the conveyer. [OHS General Regs., S.30.16(2)]
  • When worker access is necessary, elevated conveyers have a walkway along their entire length that is at least 450 mm (18 in.) wide and is equipped with guardrails. [OHS General Regs., S. 30.17]
  • Where a worker must cross over a conveyer, adequate crossing facilities are provided. [OHS General Regs., S. 30.17]
  • When a worker may be injured from material falling from a conveyer, sheet metal or screen guards are installed under a conveyer which is not entirely enclosed. [OHS General Regs., S. 30.18(1)]
  • When a worker may be injured, belt conveyers have guards that extend 1060 mm (40 in.) from the pulleys and along the sides of the conveyer. [OHS General Regs., S. 30.18(2)]
  • Unless the conveyor is stopped and locked out, a worker does not stand on the supporting frames of an open conveyer while loading, unloading, or when clearing blockages, and that the worker removes heavy or bulky articles by hand from a moving conveyer at designated stations only. [OHS General Regs., S. 30.19]

Worker duties

Workers are responsible for:

  • Working safely and following health and safety rules.
  • Participating in all training so they have a full understanding of the need for their PPE and how to use it safely.
  • Properly and consistently wearing required PPE.
  • Following all instructions, safe work practices, and procedures in the safe handling of equipment.
  • Participating in training, or hazard assessments, where appropriate.
  • Reporting any hazards and early signs and symptoms of injury to the supervisor or employer.
  • Using the equipment in a safe manner for the purpose for which it was designed.

If working at a conveyor or belt, repetitive motions, reaching, and lifting may lead to Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD) especially when movements are done quickly and for a long period of time. Please see the ergonomic and manual lifting topics for more information.