R614-3-18. Guarding of Farm Field Equipment, Farmstead Equipment

A. This section applies to all farm field equipment and farmstead equipment manufactured after October 25, 1976. Equipment manufactured prior to that date shall meet the manufacturers specifications for guards.

B. Operating instructions. At the time of initial assignment and at least annually thereafter, the employer shall instruct every employee in the safe operation and servicing of all covered equipment with which he is or will be involved, including at least the following safe operating practices:

1. Keep all guards in place when the machine is in operation.

2. Permit no riders on farm field equipment other than persons required for instruction or assistance in machine operation;

3. Stop engine, disconnect the power source, and wait for all machine movement to stop before servicing, adjusting, cleaning, or unclogging the equipment, except where the machine must be running to be properly serviced or maintained, in which case the employer shall instruct employees as to all steps and procedures which are necessary to safely service or maintain the equipment;

4. Make sure everyone is clear of machinery before starting the engine, engaging power, or operating the machine;

5. Lock out power before performing maintenance or service on farmstead equipment.

C. Methods of guarding. Each employer shall protect employees from coming into contact with hazards created by moving machinery parts as follows:

1. Through the installation and use of a guard or shield or guarding by location.

2. Whenever a guard or shield or guarding by location is infeasible, by using a guardrail or fence.

D. Strength and design of guards.

1. Where guards are used to provide the protection required by this section, they shall be designed and located to protect against inadvertent contact with the hazard being guarded.

2. Unless otherwise specified, each guard and its supports shall be capable of withstanding the force that a 250 pound individual, leaning on or falling against the guard, would exert upon that guard.

E. Guards shall be free from burrs, sharp edges, and sharp corners, and shall be securely fastened to the equipment or building.

F. Guarding by location. A component is guarded by location during operation, maintenance, or servicing when, because of its location, no employee can inadvertently come in contact with the hazard during such operation, maintenance, or servicing. Where the employer can show that any exposure to hazards results from employee conduct which constitutes an isolated and unforeseeable event, the component shall also be considered guarded by location.

G. Guarding by railings. Guardrails or fences shall be capable of protecting against employees inadvertently entering the hazardous area.

H. Servicing and maintenance. Whenever a moving machinery part presents a hazard during servicing or maintenance, the engine shall be stopped, the power source disconnected, and all machine movement stopped before servicing or maintenance is performed, except where the employer can establish that:

1. The equipment must be running to be properly serviced or maintained;

2. The equipment cannot be serviced or maintained while a guard or guards otherwise required by this standard are in place; and

3. The servicing or maintenance can be safely performed.

I. Farm field equipment

1. Power take off guarding. All power take off shafts, including rear, mid or side mounted shafts, shall be guarded either by a master shield or by other protective guarding.

a. All tractors shall be equipped with an agricultural tractor master shield on the rear power take off except where removal of the tractor master shield is permitted by (2). The master shield shall have sufficient strength to prevent permanent deformation of the shield when a 250 pound operator mounts or dismounts the tractor using the shield as a step.

b. Power take off driven equipment shall be guarded to protect against employee contact with positively driven rotating members of the power drive system. Where power take off driven equipment is of a design requiring removal of the tractor master shield, the equipment shall also include protection from that portion of the tractor power take off shaft which protrudes from the tractor.

c. Signs shall be placed at prominent locations on tractors and power take off driven equipment specifying that power drive system safety shields must be kept in place.

2. Other power transmission components.

a. The mesh or nip points of all power driven gears, belts, chains, sheaves, pulleys, sprockets, and idlers shall be guarded.

b. All revolving shafts, including projections such as bolts, keys, or set screws, shall be guarded, except smooth shaft ends protruding less than one half the outside diameter of the shaft and its locking means.

c. Ground driven components shall be guarded if any employee may be exposed to them while the drives are in motion.

3. Functional components. Functional components, such as snapping or husking rolls, straw spreaders and choppers, cutterbars, flail rotors, rotary beaters, mixing augers, feed rolls, conveying augers, rotary tillers, and similar units, which must be exposed for proper function, shall be guarded to the fullest extent which will not substantially interfere with normal functioning of the component.

4. Access to moving parts. Guards, shields, and access doors shall be in place when the equipment is in operation. Where removal of a guard or access door will expose an employee to any component which continues to rotate after the power is disengaged, the employer shall provide, in the immediate area, the following:

a. A readily visible or audible warning of rotation; and

b. A safety sign warning the employee to look and listen for evidence of rotation and not remove the guard or access door until all components have stopped.

J. Farmstead equipment.

1. Power take off guarding.

a. All power take off shafts, including rear, mid, or side mounted shafts, shall be guarded either by a master shield or other protective guarding.

b. Power take off driven equipment shall be guarded to protect against employee contact with positively driven rotating members of the power drive system.

c. Where power take off driven equipment is of a design requiring removal of the tractor master shield, the equipment shall also include protection from that portion of the tractor power take off shaft which protrudes from the tractor.

d. Signs shall be placed at prominent locations on power take off driven equipment specifying that power drive system safety shields must be kept in place.

2. Other power transmission components. The mesh or nip points of all power driven gears, belts, chains, sheaves, pulleys, sprockets, and idlers shall be guarded. All revolving shafts, including projections such as bolts, keys, or set screws, shall be guarded, with the exception of:

a. Smooth shafts and shaft ends (without any projecting bolts, keys, or set screws), revolving at less than 10 rpm, on feed handling equipment used on the top surface of materials in bulk storage facilities; and

b. Smooth shaft ends protruding less than one half the outside diameter of the shaft and its locking means.

3. Functional components, such as choppers, rotary beaters, mixing augers, feed rolls, conveying augers, grain spreaders, stirring augers, sweep augers, and feed augers, which must be exposed for proper function, shall be guarded to the fullest extent which will not substantially interfere with the normal functioning of the component. All accessible screw conveyors shall be guarded by substantial covers or gratings, or with an inverted horizontally slotted guard of the trough type, which will prevent employees from coming into contact with the screw conveyor. Such guards may consist of horizontal bars spaced so as to allow material to be fed into the conveyor, and supported by arches which are not more than 8 feet apart. Screw conveyors under gin stands shall be considered guarded by location.

4. Sweep arm material gathering mechanisms used on the top surface of materials within silo structures shall be guarded. The lower or leading edge of the guard shall be located no more than 12 inches above the material surface and no less than 6 inches in front of the leading edge of the rotating member of the gathering mechanism. The guard shall be parallel to, and extend the fullest practical length of, the material gathering mechanism.

5. Exposed auger flighting on portable grain augers shall be guarded with either grating type guards or solid baffle type covers as follows:

a. The largest dimensions or openings in grating type guards through which materials are required to flow shall be 4-3/4 inches. The area of each opening shall be no larger than 10 square inches. The opening shall be located no closer to the rotating flighting than 2-1/2 inches.

b. Slotted openings in solid baffle type covers shall be no wider than 1-1/2 inches, or closer than 3-1/2 inches to the exposed flighting.

6. Access to moving parts. Guards, shields, and access doors shall be in place when the equipment is in operation. Where removal of a guard or access door will expose an employee to any component which continues to rotate after the power is disengaged, the employer shall provide, in the immediate area, the following:

a. A readily visible or audible warning of rotation; and

b. A safety sign warning the employee to:

(1) look and listen for evidence of rotation; and

(2) not remove the guard or access door until all components have stopped.

K. Electrical disconnect means. Application of electrical power from a location not under the immediate and exclusive control of the employee or employees maintaining or servicing equipment shall be prevented by:

1. providing an exclusive, positive, locking means on the main switch which can be operated only by the employee or employees performing the maintenance or servicing; or

2. there is an electrical disconnect switch available to the employee within 15 feet of the equipment upon which maintenance or service is being performed; and

3. a sign is prominently posted near each hazardous component which warns the employee that unless the electrical disconnect switch is utilized, the motor could automatically reset while the employee is working on the hazardous component.