When working with heavy machinery, what can be more important than safety? In years past machine shops had very few safe guards for their machines. It was not unheard off for shop workers to get seriously injured while running their machine. Hospital visits were common and many workers were injured so badly that they were no longer able to do their jobs.

As the years wore on the obvious need for machine safeguarding began to be addressed. One of the first safeguarding methods to be utilized was safety switches. Safety switches allowed the power to the machine to be cut immediately. This was extremely important since an employee in danger was no able to shut the machine off before serious damage could be done.

Safety switches were great, but unfortunately it was not always possible for the machine worker to access them when they were in trouble. This lead to the invention of safety shields. These shields prevented shop workers from getting themselves into danger in the first place by keeping them away from the machine’s moving parts.

These safety shields led to lathe guards, grinder guards, drill guards and mill guards. These new guards have greatly reduced the number of injuries suffered by shop employees. However, guards and switches cannot prevent all accidents. The workers themselves have to take it upon themselves to remember that safety is of the utmost importance.

When running a machine with so much power shop workers must always remember to keep their body away from all moving parts. Safety shields and switches can greatly reduce the number of injuries, but everyone in the shop has to take safety into their own hands.

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