In an effort to drive down the rates of people injured by machinery,  the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) created a new machine safety course, Interlocking Devices: Selection and Use.

“Most workplaces don’t realize they have a problem until the Ministry of Labour does an inspection or a machinery accident occurs that involves critical injuries that have lasting effects for the injured party, their co-workers, and the organization,” says Jim Armstrong, IAPA’s director of consulting services.

“IAPA’s new course targets those employees trusted with ensuring machinery is safe to operate with the skills and knowledge to make better assessments of what interlocking devices are appropriate for different pieces of machinery and operations.”
 

The Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada reported that in 2005 there were more than 17,368 machinery-related lost time injuries in the workplace. 

The IAPA says people working with and around machines face several types of hazards including loading, set-up, maintenance, cleaning, adjusting troubleshooting and repairs. The hazards can also occur:

• when materials are fed into the process;

• when a machine cuts, turns, drills, shapes or punches materials; and

• when working with power transmission equipment such as gears, wheels, cylinders, belts, rollers, chains, cables and sprockets.

The IAPA says its course is led by expert consultants who will help attendees better understand the correct use of interlocking devices, review the applicable CSA standard Z432-04 and look at the technologies available. The training will also allow users to interact with real interlocking devices giving them some hands-on experience. 

For information about course offerings, visit www.iapa.ca.