Chapter 5 -
The Utilization of Industry Consensus Standards

The Utilization of Industry Consensus Standards

OSHA uses industry consensus standards, related to the safe operation of equipment, as guidance of the industry accepted practice for safe operations. Industry consensus standards which describe equipment configuration or design but which do not describe safe and/or healthful use and operation of the equipment are of limited assistance to OSHA. In any event, even when an industry consensus standard addresses safety/health considerations, OSHA may determine that the safety/health practices described by that industry consensus standard are deficient when related to the requirement(s) set forth by the pertinent OSHA regulation(s). However, many of the various ANSI safety standards devoted to the safe use of equipment and machines are pertinent and provide valuable guidance as they relate to the multitude of safe operating procedures regularly discussed in ANSI safety standards.

All of the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.212, are applicable to machines found in industry. Paragraph (a)(1), requires that employees be protected from the hazards created by the point of operation, ingoing nip points, and rotating parts. Paragraph (a)(2), describes the manner in which guards shall be affixed. The proper application of devices are not described; therefore, other similar OSHA or pertinent industry standards must be referred to for guidance. Paragraph (a)(3) describes, with particularity, the requirements for safeguarding the point of operation.

The OSHA standard specifically requires that at the point of operation, "the guarding device shall be in conformity with any appropriate standards therefore, or in the absence of applicable specific standards, shall be so designed and constructed as to prevent the operator from having any part of his body in the danger zone during the operating cycle. "Applicable standards include any similar OSHA standard or any OSHA adopted industry consensus standard(s) which provide for the safety of the operator during the operating cycle. However, any specific industry consensus standard, such as an ANSI standard for the particular machine or equipment, should be used for guidance relative to the accepted procedures for safeguarding workers and operators from the recognized hazards of the equipment.

Employers who comply with the requirements of an industry consensus standard rather than a specific OSHA standard, where such compliance deviates from the OSHA requirements but provides for a more conservative safeguarding concept, are categorized as having created a de minimis violation of the specific OSHA standard. (A de minimis violation is a violation of an OSHA standard that has no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health. Such de minimis violations require no correction and result in no penalty.)

OSHA encourages employers to abide by the more current industry consensus standards since those standards are more likely to be abreast of the state of the art than an applicable OSHA standard may be. Furthermore, the industry consensus standards will usually discuss a variety of techniques for averting exposure to the identified hazards of the machine or process.

Listing of Specific ANSI Safety Standards

ANSI B11.1-1982 Mechanical Power Presses
ANSI B11.2-1982 Hydraulic Power Presses
ANSI B11.3-1982 Power Press Brakes
ANSI B11.4-1983 Shears
ANSI B11.5-1988 Iron Workers
ANSI B11.6-1984 Lathes
ANSI B11.7-1985 Cold Headers and Cold Formers
ANSI B11.8-1983 Drilling, Milling, and Boring Machines
ANSI B11.9-1975 Grinding Machines
ANSI B11.10-1983 Metal Sawing Machines
ANSI B11.11-1985 Gear Cutting Machines
ANSI B11.12-1983 Roll Forming and Roll Bending Machines
ANSI B11.13-1983 Single- and Multiple-Spindle Automatic
Screw/Bar and Chucking Machines
ANSI B11.14-1983 Coil Slitting Machines/Equipment
ANSI B11.15-1984 Pipe, Tube, and Shape Bending Machines
ANSI B11.17-1982 Horizontal Hydraulic Extrusion Presses
ANSI B11.18-1985 Machinery and Machine Systems for the Processing of Coiled Strip, Sheet, and Plate
ANSI B11.19-1990 Machine Tools, Safeguarding
ANSI B11.20-1991 Manufacturing Systems/Cells
(ANSI B15.1-1994/6) Power Transmission Apparatus
ANSI B19.1-1990 Air Compressor Systems
ANSI B19.3-1986/90 Compressors for Process Industries
ANSI B20.1-1990 Conveyors and Related Equipment
ANSI B24.1-1985 Forging Machinery
ANSI B28.6-1983 Rubber Machinery, Hose
ANSI B28.7-1983 Rubber Machinery, Hose
ANSI B28.8-1983 Rubber Machinery, Hose
ANSI B28.9-1983 Rubber Machinery, Hose
ANSI B28.10-1986 Rubber Machinery, Endless Belt
ANSI B30.16-1987 Overhead Hoists
ANSI B151.1-1990 Plastics Injection Molding Machinery, Horizontal
ANSI B151.2-1982/88 Plastics Machinery, Film Casting
ANSI B151.3-1982/88 Plastics Machinery, Screen Changers
ANSI B151.4-1982/88 Plastics Machinery, Blown Film Takeoff & Auxiliary Equipment
ANSI B151.5-1982/88 Plastics Machinery, Film & Sheet Winding
ANSI B151.6-1982/88 Plastics Machinery, Slit Tape & Monofilament Postextrusion Equipment
ANSI B151.7-1982/88 Plastics & Rubber Extrusion Machinery
ANSI B151.11-1982 Plastics Machinery, Granulators, Pelletizers, & Dicers
ANSI B151.15-1985 Plastics Machinery, Extrusion Blow Molding
ANSI B151.21-1986 Plastics Machinery, Injection Blow Molding
ANSI B151.25-1988 Plastics Machinery, Injection Molding
ANSI B152.2-1982 Permanent-Mold Casting Machines (Other than Gray Iron)
ANSI B153.1-1990 Automotive Lifts
ANSI B155.1-1986 Packaging Machinery
ANSI B169.1-1990 Envelope Manufacturing Machinery
ANSI B176-1985 Copper-Alloy Diecasting
ANSI B177.2-1977/82 Printing Ink Vertical Post Mixers
ANSI/NEMA ICS2:225.95-1983 Interlocking Control Circuits for Personnel Protection
ANSI/NFPA 79-1991 Electrical Standard for Industrial Machinery
ANSI/RIA R15.06-1986 Industrial Robots and Robot Systems
ANSI Z8.1-1972 Commercial Laundry & Dry-Cleaning Equipment
ANSI Z241.1-1989 Foundry, Sand Prep., Molding, & Core-Making
ANSI Z241.2-1989 Foundry, Melting & Pouring of Metals
ANSI Z241.3-1989 Foundry, Cleaning & Finishing of Castings
ANSI Z245.1-1984 Refuse Collecting & Compacting Equipment
ANSI Z245.3-1977/83 Stability of Refuse Bins
ANSI Z245.5-1982 Bailing Equipment
ANSI Z268.1-1082 Metal Scrap Processing Equipment



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