Safety Equipment

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 49 percent of injuries from hydraulic power presses and press brakes result in the amputation of the operator's hand or fingers. Other bodily injuries include strangulation from loose clothing, and severe lacerations caused by material movement. To turn the tables on press injuries, Rockford Systems introduced the second generation of its SSC1500 control system upgraded with encoder-based positioning technology.

Mencom announces new low-profile enclosures for Panel Interface Connectors (PIC). The PIC, also known as programming ports or programming interfaces, provides the ability to communicate with a device inside a cabinet without opening the cabinet door. This helps prevent potential safety hazards (such as arc flash) associated with opening an electrical panel.

The Grit-Grabber and Grinder Guard from Midaco Corp. are designed for virtually all grinders and buffers. According to the company, the universal design offers significant advantages in installation, operator safety, productivity and maintenance.

Suhner Industrial Products announces its new Power Air Respiratory System e3000, specially designed for operator protection during high-grit grinding and polishing operations. The system, in combination with the e3000 lightweight helmet from Suhner, offer respiratory protection from the effects of smoke, dust and vapor, as well as operator comfort.

Drills, mills, lathes, grinders, saws and other 120V machinery can abruptly shut down during operation due to a power interruption. When an unintentional shut down takes place, it is critically important that a machine does not automatically restart, catching the operator by surprise and leading to a serious accident.

Danray Products LLC has introduced its new sander safety scale to verify that the openings between the belt and disc and the tables on sanders are 1/8" or less.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 5,000 American manufacturing workers suffer injuries involving amputation or limb loss every single year. In all, amputations rank in OSHA's top three serious workplace injuries. Rockford Systems recognizes that these devastating, life-altering injuries are typically avoidable with the right safety equipment in place. The company's Detect-A-Finger drop-probe device, for example, is designed to prevent a riveter, welder or other small machine from cycling if it encounters fingers in the point-of-operation area, therefore preventing contact between the operator and dangerous moving parts.

Rockford Systems offers a line of electrically interlocked safety shields for cutting and turning machines that protect operators against flying chips, sparks, debris, and coolant. The electrical interlock prevents machines from starting until the shield is positioned safely in front of the hazardous area, also called the point-of-operation.

Rockford Systems announced its new RSXpress fully-automated machine safety assessment service. The new service integrates Rockford System's surveying expertise with a proprietary, cloud-based digital platform, allowing the company to generate risk assessment and machine survey proposals up to 50 percent faster than legacy methods.