How Much Do You Think About Shop Safety for CNC Machinists?

Shop Safety for CNC machinists? Go ahead. Roll your eyes. Get it out of the way now. We have all seen the cheesy safety movies with terrible acting and fake blood. Don’t worry though, this isn’t like that – I’m a terrific actor. Seriously though, I took classes.

Why don’t we start with my favorite basic rule – If you don’t do it while you’re driving, don’t do it while you’re machining. Don’t sleep, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, use drugs, call Grandma, text your buddies, or make unsafe lane changes while running your machine. Whether it is a high end CNC or an engine lathe it requires your full and undivided attention at all times. All of these machines are incredibly powerful tools that don’t have brains – don’t argue, even your half million dollar five-axis VMC doesn’t think for you. Machines do what you tell them to do, make sure you are aware of what you’re telling them. Common sense is not a part of the final sale, you have to bring that with you. Respect the equipment, it deserves it.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Shop Safety

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a very important aspect of shop safety. This includes everything from safety glasses to gloves, earplugs and aprons. I have worked in shops that required hard hats because of a 20 ton overhead crane, as well as shops that would send you home if your sleeves were loose or long, or long hair wasn’t pulled back. On the opposite end of that spectrum I have worked in shops where sneakers and flip flops were more common than steel toe boots and safety glasses. Just because your company may not enforce the rules does not mean you shouldn’t follow them. If you ever need the safety glasses you will be glad you have them on. Always be your own advocate when it comes to safety, because even if you have that annoying safety guy always sneaking around to write you up for not putting your earplugs in he can’t be there all the time, and all it takes is a split second for things to go wrong.

Shop Safety – Gloves … when to wear them and when NOT to!

Gloves are a tricky piece of PPE, because depending on what you are doing and which machine you are running they can be either helpful or harmful. Very harmful. If you are going over to the stock rack to grab a plate of steel a thick pair of leather work gloves will protect you from any sharp edges while you carry that stock. However if you are running ANY machine with a running spindle DO NOT wear gloves. Whether it is a CNC machine, a lathe, a knee mill, or a drill press wearing gloves near a rotating spindle and spell disaster. A lot of folks think they can get a better grip on their part while running the drill press if they were a heavy pair of gloves and the sharp edges won’t cut them. I can tell you first-hand how disastrous this can be – it is very easy for the drill or material to grab right onto that drill, and I will let your imagination take you from there. Assuming safety features haven’t been disabled (again, the common sense thing) then most CNC machines will not allow you to put your hand near the spindle while it is running. However, on the off chance you have both the chance and opportunity – DON’T! The only times that I ever suggest wearing gloves when running a CNC are either when fingerprints need to be avoided or when the coolant tank is full of month old flood coolant and your company hasn’t invested in anti-microbial/anti-bacterial additives. I have seen some pretty nasty skin infections from old coolant, so make sure you keep that in mind. In these cases wear latex nitrile gloves – tight fitting non leather gloves that will break with minimal force if necessary.

Avoid “Danglers” for Shop Safety

When running manual machines especially it is very important to keep any “danglers” in mind. Long sleeves, pony tails, baggy shirts, jewelry, etc. Anything that hangs off of your body – keep it to a minimum. Again, all of the above could spell disaster. I know you want to be the best dressed guy in the shop, but I would rather be the guy with all his limbs and digits. Just my personal preference.

Lockout/Tagout – take it seriously!

Finally I want to discuss Lockout/Tagout. The number of people whom I witness not following this procedure enough (myself included at times) is alarming. Lockout/Tagout for anybody who is not familiar is the process of powering down the machine and locking the power switch with a lock that only the service technician has the key for. The purpose here is to prevent anybody but the service tech from doing ANYTHING with the machine. Every time you service that machine without powering down and locking it out you are inviting accidents. Especially when dealing with CNC machines the consequences of this mistake could be fatal- it’s not worth the extra thirty seconds.

Safety is absolutely no joke. PPE can be uncomfortable, inconvenient and cumbersome. Safety procedures can be time consuming. Plain and simple, you never want to be in a position where you finally understand why they enact all these rules – just trust in them and follow your common sense. It is the most useful tool you will have with you in the machine shop. Stay safe friends.