A shear point is any point where part\nof the operator can be caught between a moving mechanical part and a stationary\npart of the machine that create a cutting motion.  A shear point can also involve two machine\ncomponents or moving parts that move past each other.  Examples of shear point hazards include\nshears, punch presses, and elevators. \nShearing machines are used to cut sheet metal, and involve either\nhydraulic powered cutting strokes, or counterbalanced weights to generate\nenough force to shear the material.  The\nshear hazard exists between the blade of the shearing machine, and the rear\nedge of the work table that the piece rests on. \nPunch presses are used to stamp parts out of sheet metal, and have shear\nhazards where the punch die meets the material. \nElevators and any other powered linear machinery have shear points at\nany point where a solid surface exists that the elevator passes.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

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 <\/span>Shear\nPress with Shear Point Hazard<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

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Alligator Shear Used for Recycling<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The\nmast of forklifts creates a shear point wherever the lifting platform passes a\nsolid member of the forklift, or when the lifting platform passes a solid\nobject or structure.  People can be\nseriously injured or killed when riding a pallet on the forks of a lift truck\nto be raised or lowered.  These people\nare then exposed to the multitude of pinch and shear points that a forklift\nhas. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

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Forklift\nMasts Have Shear Point Hazard<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

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Shear\npoints don\u2019t always involve machinery. \nOther products can have hidden shear points that are left\nunguarded.  Folding high chairs are an\nexample of a product that can have a shear point.  Folding high chairs that have a scissor type\nmechanism to collapse and expand have sharp points where these scissor\nmechanisms close.  Children have had\nfingers amputated by these mechanisms when a high chair collapses while they\nare holding the legs of the high chair.  Ladders\nand step stools also have scissoring type mechanisms that create shear\npoints.  <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

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Collapsing\nstep stool with shear point<\/o:p><\/span><\/strong><\/p>

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Shear\npoints can be missed by designers.  The\nauthors worked on a case involving a children\u2019s ATV that had a chain and\nsprocket drive with a metal plate covering the outside of the sprocket.  Children\u2019s legs of a certain length would\nhang right at the level of the sprocket drive with its in-running nip\npoint.  The guard did not restrict access\nto the nip point, and children got pulled into the nip point.  As if this wasn\u2019t bad enough, the thin metal\nguard covering the sprocket acted as a knife blade when the children\u2019s feet\nwere pulled into the sprocket.  This\nresulted in amputated toes.  Designers\nmust constantly assess moving parts, and how those moving parts can interact\nwith other parts of the product to create shear points and other hazards.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

MASE works with a variety of machine guarding cases, including:<\/p>\n

 – Power press accidents<\/p>\n

– Food processing equipment accidents<\/p>\n

– Packaging machinery<\/p>\n

– Labeling machinery<\/p>\n

– Conveyors<\/p>\n

– Lawnmower accidents<\/p>\n

– Wood chipper accidents<\/p>\n

– Tractor rollover accidents<\/p>\n

– Table saw accidents<\/p>\n

– Power tool accidents<\/p>\n

– Metal fabrication machinery<\/p>\n

– Punch press accidents<\/p>\n

– Machine guarding accidents <\/p>\n

– Rubber press accidents<\/p>\n

– Power transmission accidents <\/p>\n

– Rotating shaft accidents<\/p>\n

– Guarding interlock failure related accidents<\/p>\n

– Lumber processing equipment accidents<\/p>\n

– OSHA violations<\/p>\n

– Lockout\/Tagout accidents<\/p>\n

– Alligator shear accident<\/p>\n

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Call us today at (855) 627-6273 or email us at info@mase.pro to discuss machine guarding issues.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Contact MASE today at (855) 627-6273 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-121","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n