Machine Guarding

When Bill Valedis teaches safety courses, he often tells the story of when he took flying lessons. During one flight, he had the procedures manual between his legs but clearly hadn’t properly studied it. After that session, the instructor told Valedis she would never fly with him again. She had put her life in his hands, and he hadn't followed proper procedures.

Flying a plane unprepared is a bit like running a company with a safety program that just sits in a binder and collects dust, or being only vaguely aware of machine guarding requirements. Valedis is the president of Imperial Automation Technologies Inc., based in Fergus, Ont. He conducts training in pre-start health and safety reviews (PSRs) and has learned, by the questions people ask him, that many manufacturers are unaware of their legal requirements for machine safeguarding. Valedis urges them to learn and to understand that codes, standards and regulations are designed to minimize risk.

"When guys grumble about procedures, saying it's a bunch of bull and pieces of paper, I say, 'No, it's not. It may not be perfect, but we must understand that they exist, what they do, and we must follow them.'" In other words, legislation can only take us so far. Taking the time to understand and apply it is everyone's responsibility. Just like himself when he was eager to fly but impatient about taking the proper steps, Valedis says companies that neglect their requirements may be putting people's lives at risk.

"We all get buried in having to make production, keeping the bottom line rolling and the product going out the door, but we could all be sitting in a room one day and say, 'Why did this person die?'" says Valedis. "Having sat through department of labour hearings and testified as an expert witness before, I've left all these sessions with a gut-wrenching feeling in my stomach: Why aren't we doing enough?"

Michelle Morra