Conveyor Hazards Frequently Aren’t Conveyed

After saws, conveyors are the second most common type of equipment involved in workplace amputation injuries. Sadly, workers who are terrified of saws frequently don’t give conveyor systems the respect they deserve.

Maybe it’s because some conveyors, such as escalators and moving walkways, are designed to carry people. If one has survived 2,000 escalator trips without an incident, how harmful could other types of conveyor systems be?

Very harmful, as this example shows:

• A worker was instructed to clean a sawmill conveyor while it was moving, in order to save time. When he was finished cleaning the conveyor he had to jump about six feet (almost two meters) down.

This incident shows how easily workers can get into life-threatening situations. Who isn’t tempted by the idea of jumping over a moving conveyor rather than walking the long way around? Each time you “get away with it” falsely reinforces your belief that there is no real danger.