ACRE Safety Thought #58

What is a pinch point? For work place purposes it is any place on a machine where a part of the body can get caught between two parts. Safety guards are most often used to shield workers from these hazards. But some pinch points are impossible to guard and require user judgment. An example is pinching your fingers or hand in a slammed doorway. Identified agricultural hazards at ACRE would include the area between a tractor and an implement. The risk hazard increases when hitching an implement to a tractor, especially if two people are involved. A direct line of sight is only one aspect that is critical to safe hitching. Another hazard is after a machine is stopped for repair or adjustment. It is critical that the energy of the machine be released or locked out. Remember every machine doing mechanical work can have pinch points. Injuries for powerful farm machinery can be very serious. So think, plan, train, and work safely at ACRE. Jim