MECHANICAL HAZARDS

1. CRUSHING:

The body is trapped between two moving parts or one moving part and a fixed object (e.g. a hydraulic lift collapses, crushing a person underneath it).

2. SHEARING:

A part of the body (usually the fingers) is trapped between two parts of the machine, one moving past the other with some speed. The effect is like a guillotine, cutting off the trapped body part.

3. CUTTING / SEVERING:

Contact is made with a moving sharp-edged part, such as a blade (e.g. the blade of a bandsaw).

4. ENTANGLEMENT:

Loose items such as clothing or hair get caught on a rotating machine part and the person is drawn onto the machine.

5. DRAWING IN / TRAPPING: 

A part of the body is caught between two moving parts and drawn into the machine, e.g. at “in-running nips”, where two counter-rotating rollers meet.

6. IMPACT:

The body is struck by a powered part of a machine (this is similar to crushing, but there is no fixed structure to trap the person; the speed and weight of the object does the damage).

7. STABBING / PUNCTURE

Sharp parts of the machine, or parts or material ejected from the machine, penetrate the body (e.g. swarf, sewing-machine needle, abrasive wheel fragments, nails from a nail gun).

8. FRICTION / ABRASION: 

Contact is made with a fast-moving surface, which may be smooth (e.g. touching a spin dryer) or rough (e.g. touching a belt sander).

9. HIGH PRESSURE FLUID INJECTION 

Fluid at very high pressure is ejected from the machine and penetrates the skin (e.g. hydraulic fluid escaping from a burst hydraulic hose).

Thank You for reading the page. Please follow the blog for information on Safety Jobs, Industrial Safety, Fire Safety and Construction Safety courses study material.

Visit and subscribe our YouTube channel Being Safety Officer for safety videos.