The rapid development of the industrial area since the Industrial Revolution led to the emergence of a multitude of machines and equipment that made it possible to manufacture consumer goods quickly and on a large scale. At the beginning of this development, little or no attention was given to the man-machine interface, in relation to the ergonomics of operation, physical effort required and especially in relation to the protection to the workers that interacted with these machines and equipment, resulting in a great amount of accidents involving mutilations and deaths.
Much progress has been made to protect the workers in recent years in order to prevent parts of the human body from coming into contact with areas or danger zones of machinery that pose a risk to the physical integrity of workers. In Brazil, the Norma Regulamentadora No. 12 was created in 1978, which deals with this issue and gives special attention to the equipment considered to offer the greatest risks to the worker. The NR-18 (Conditions and working environment in the construction industry) in its Annex 22, also makes reference to machines, equipment and tools in general.
Unfortunately, even nowadays, due to lack of inspection or lack of awareness of the business community, many facilities remain as if they were stopped in time, not being subjected to a technical evaluation to verify the hazards they present in their routine operation. Data from the Ministry of Labor indicate that between 2011 and 2013 there were an average of 12 accidents per day with machines that resulted in amputations. Additionally, there was one death every 2 days in the same period of time.
This topic addresses, among other things:
- Compliance to NR-12 requirements regarding the equipment and its operator.
- Recommendations of the NR-18 in relation to machines and equipment.
- Types of protection against inappropriate access, heat, cold, radiation.
- Studies of accidents involving lack of machine protection.
• Emergency stop location related to the equipment
