Posted By David Martin I have come across some machines which have removable covers over moving parts. The round covers are held in place with a screw clamp mechanism. When tight this mechanism is fine but I have noticed that people leave them undone ( for ease of access ). Without wishing to sound daft I presume that these covers are not suitable and should be replaced with an interlocked cover where maitenance access may be required in future? Has anyone else come across this sort of "quick release fitting"? Where do we draw the line between fitting interlocks and just ensuring that covers are secured so that tools are required to remove them? Thanks in advance.

Posted By Ken Taylor Whilst the interlocking of all guards and covers would seem an ideal situation, many machines with moving parts have guards that can readily be removed or lifted aside without the use of tools (eg for frequent maintenance, access to change bits, heads, cutters, etc.) and I believe them to be still 'legal'. There will be pros and cons in this subject as guards and covers that are time-consuming to replace after legitimate temporary removal may be left off by impatient operators. Training, supervision and enforcement action are called for as ever.