Anyone dealing with the operation and maintenance of conveyor belts realizes how much more complicated these systems can be than they first appear. But at the same time, their operation requires some relatively common sense safety practices that are all too often left by the wayside.
Personnel working near a moving belt can create the opportunity for an inadvertent contact to turn into a serious injury or death.
The most obvious idea is that personnel can never begin work on a conveyor belt until it has completely stopped including crossing over or getting onto the belt. And simply stopping the conveyor is never enough. Workers should instead ensure that the system has been locked in place, testing to be certain it can no longer move.
From there, built-in safety mechanisms on the conveyor belt, including containment walls like the belt skirting seal, should help to protect workers from many of the inner workings of the machine. But technicians and all other employees should nevertheless be careful about the clothing and equipment they wear on a belt.
Loose clothing or jewelry should always be avoided, but even some tools can cause a safety hazard in certain circumstances, particularly if left unattended. While the skirting and transfer points should keep tools from falling off the belt, loose tools can still pose a problem for some equipment and personnel should be sure to conduct a walk around before startup.
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