OSHA General Industry Machinery and Machine Guarding 1910 Subpart O 1910.212
The operation of machinery and equipment can be extremely dangerous. Injuries involving machinery and equipment often result in death or permanent disability. OSHA’s more than 40-year inspection experience indicates that employee exposures to unguarded or inadequately guarded machinery and equipment, together with associated hazardous energy employee exposures during servicing and maintenance activities, occur in many workplaces. OSHA workplace requirements prescribe measures for the safe operation, servicing and maintenance of machinery and equipment. (See, e.g., 29 CFR 1910.147, 1910.212, 1910.213, 1910.217, and 1910.219.)
Employee exposure to unguarded or inadequately guarded machines is prevalent in many workplaces. Workers who operate and maintain machinery suffer approximately 18,000 amputations, lacerations, crushing injuries, abrasions, and over 800 deaths per year.