When it comes to accidents, manufacturing ranks second highest of all industries. That comes despite OSHA regulations and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. A key culprit is unguarded hazardous machinery. 

Safety circuits used in machine guarding applications incorporate devices such as sensors and relays to de-energize equipment if any hazardous condition is detected. These conditions normally involve a machine guard not being closed, a presence sensor detecting personnel in an unsafe area or the triggering of an emergency stop function.

Advances in machining and robotics have increased operational efficiency in virtually all manufacturing sectors. Production and profits would plunge if operations were done by hand alone. History has shown us that the advantages of machines are undeniable.

Any potential risks posed by a machine should be largely eliminated from the start for economic reasons.  And a safety system should minimize unnecessary trips to maximize uptime. Here are five steps to consider when planning a machine build

In the United States, workers operating or maintaining industrial machinery suffer more than 18,000 amputations, crushed fingers and other traumatic injuries each year. While these injuries vary greatly, the majority of cases do have one thing in common: the injury was largely preventable if machine safeguarding equipment had been in-place, or would have been far less severe.