Posted By garyh A question for all of your people with conveyors. I have come across a workplace where there are long sections of conveyors moving quite rapidly which are unguarded except for a tripwire. If you caught your arm in or fell onto it.......it would probably be very serious, possibly fatal. Question is, what is acceptable with conveyors? The site in question has miles of conveyors, interestingly some guarded and some with trip wires only.

Posted By peter gotch Gary BS EN 620: 2002, 'Continuous handling equipment and systems - Safety and EMC requirements for fixed belt conveyors for bulk materials', BS 4531: 1986, ' Specification for portable and mobile troughed belt conveyors', and BS 7300: 1990, ' Code of practice for safeguarding of the hazard points on troughed belt conveyors'. BS 5667: Part 19: 1980, 'Specification for Continuous mechanical handling equipment - Safety requirements, Part 19, Belt conveyors - examples for guarding of nip points'. Part of the rationale for not applying a higher standard is that there is very limited need for workers to pass alongside these conveyors except in a break down or clean up situation in which case they should be isolated. Fixed enclosure guards liable to damage from larger materials falling off conveyor + this leads in its own right to blockages. There is no expectation that there is not an inrunning nip between belt and intermediate rollers - contrast with pop-up rollers often used on the exit side of flat conveyors in e.g. food and drinks industries. With trip wires, smaller materials will fall off but not trip the conveyor off. Heavily dependent on maintaining trip wires taut. Conveyors a major source of serious accidents including fatals. Regards, Peter