New Hampshire Machine Guarding: What you need to know

New Hampshire does not have a federally approved occupational safety and health regulatory program for the state; therefore, private sector workplaces must comply with federal occupational safety and health standards.

The state has adopted its own machine guarding rules for public sector employers (state and local government agencies) in general industry workplaces that are substantially less comprehensive than the federal rules.

The U.S. Department of Labor/Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) administers and enforces federal workplace safety and health requirements in private sector workplaces. The New Hampshire Department of Labor/Safety and Training Division administers safety and health rules for public sector workplaces.

Machine guarding must be provided to protect employees from hazards such as those created by point of operation, nip points, rotating parts, and flying chips and sparks. The guards must not pose an accident hazard in itself.

Point of operation guarding devices must be designed to prevent the operator from having any part of his body in the danger zone during the operating cycle.

Machines designed for a fixed location must be securely anchored to prevent walking or moving, or designed in such a manner that they do not move in normal operation.

The employer must provide and ensure the usage of point-of-operation guards or properly applied and adjusted point-of-operation devices, per the manufacturer's recommendation, to prevent entry of hands or fingers into the point-of-operation by reaching through, over, under, and around ...