For the fiscal year of 2023, the 10th most frequently cited OSHA standard was General Industry’s Machinery and Machine Guarding standard- 29 CFR 1910.212, with 1,635 violations.
OSHA’s new Sever Injury Report tool highlights additional information related to severe injuries, with 24,635 related to amputations in the workplace since 2015, and a total of 1,255 occurring in 2024.
Furthermore, of the top 5 events and exposures that lead to severe injuries in the workplace, three of which can be associated with improper guarding as well as a failure to properly implement and execute adequate equipment de-energization, or Lockout Tagout (LOTO).
To stress the importance of ensuring workplaces do not present amputation hazards to employees, OSHA has a National Emphasis Program in place related to hazardous machinery (OSHA Instruction – CPL 03-00-022 – National Emphasis Program on Amputations in Manufacturing Industries – 12/10/2019). The program serves to focus OSHA’s resources o high hazard industries that have a greater likelihood of amputations, and includes targeted inspections of those businesses. Currently, businesses in violation of machine guarding requirements can receive fines up to $16,550 per violations that are deemed serious or other-than-serious.
When it comes to protecting your employees from serious injuries like amputations, or even death, as the result of being caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation, or compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment as noted in the OSHA’s Top 5 Events and Exposures, a plan for assessing the machine guarding in your facility should be in place. Once gaps in machine guarding are identified, an action plan can be developed to begin correcting any deficiencies found.
If you need assistance understanding how OSHA’s machine guarding standard applies to your business, CMI has experts in identifying guarding deficiencies through structured machine guarding assessments. Contact us today to discuss how to begin the process!
References:
https://www.osha.gov/top10citedstandards
https://www.osha.gov/severe-injury-reports
https://www.osha.gov/enforcement/directives/nep
https://www.osha.gov/penalties
https://www.osha.gov/memos/2025-01-07/2025-annual-adjustments-osha-civil-penalties
