Guidelines for Safe Operations and Maintenance of Conveyors

Conveyor safety generally begins with sound design that is practical and avoids foreseeable dangers and hazards. Diligence in safety considerations must be applied during the course of manufacture, installation and establishment of operating and maintenance policies and procedures.

Generally, the accidents that cause personal injury in connection with a belt conveyor are not the result of faulty design or component failure. It has been found that most accidents are caused by human carelessness, negligence, or lack of training in operations and awareness of possible hazard.




Thus, these are the guidelines for safe operation and maintenance that an operating personnel should follow to minimize accidents in the workplace;

1. At a time close to completion of installation, all personnel and supervisors should be given a complete indoctrination in the use of the system and all of its equipment. Field inspection and classroom techniques are two valuable types of training.

2. A formal safety training program for operations, maintenance, and supervisory personnel will go a long way toward establishing and maintaining the highest standards of safety in the work place.

3. Concurrent with completion of the installation and the trial runs of all belt conveyors and associated equipment, a “Safety Checkup” is recommended. The checkup should include all mechanical and electrical operating equipment, plus the structures, walkways, ladders, stairs, head rooms, and access ways. It is at this time that a detailed physical inspection of the facility and the installed conveyor equipment will often reveal the need for additional guarding, safety devices, and warning signs.

4. At no time should the conveyors be used to handle material other than that originally specified. Capacity and belt speed design ratings should not be exceeded.

5. Only trained personnel should be allowed to operate the conveyor system. They should have complete knowledge of conveyor operation, electrical controls, safety and warning devices, and the capacity and performance limitations of the systems.

6. The locations and operation of all emergency control and safety devices should be made known to all personnel. Surrounding areas should be kept free of obstructions or materials that could impede ready access and a clear view of such safety equipment at all times.

7. A program should be established to provide frequent inspection of all equipment. Guards, safety devices, and warning signs should be maintained in their proper positions and in good working order. Only competent and properly trained and authorized persons should adjust or work on safety devices.

8. A “walking inspection” of a belt conveyor system is a good means by which well-trained maintenance personnel can often detect potential problems from any unusual sounds made by such components as idlers, pulleys, shafts, bearings, drives, belts, and belt splices.

9. Hands and feet should never come in contact with any conveyor component, and no one should be allowed to ride on a moving or operable conveyor. Poling at or prodding material on the belt or any component of a moving conveyor should be prohibited. Contact with, or work on, a conveyor must occur only while the equipment is stopped, with the electrical control locked off.
10. No person should be allowed to ride on, step on, or cross over a moving conveyors, nor to walk or climb on conveyor structures, without using the walkways, stairs, ladders, and crossovers provided.

11. Good housekeeping in a prerequisite for safe conditions. All areas around a conveyor, and particularly those surrounding drives, walkways, safety devices, and control stations, should be kept free of debris and obstacles, including inactive or unused equipment, components, wiring, and obsolete or non-applicable warning signs or posted instructions.

12. Any conveyor found to be in an unsafe condition for operation, or one that does not have all guards and safety devices in excellent condition, should not be used unless adequate supplementary safety devices are installed.

13. All persons should be barred by appropriate means from entering an area where falling material may present a hazard. Warning signs and barricades can be used.

14. First-class maintenance is a prerequisite for the safest operation of conveyors. Maintenance, including lubrications, should be performed with the conveyor stopped and locked out. Special lubricating equipment, lube extensions, pipes, and the like can be installed so as to permit lubrication of an operating conveyor without any foreseeable hazards.

15. Good lighting contributes to a safe working environment.

16. During the life of a belt conveyor system, its operational conditions and environment may require changes. There should be a continuing effort to detect and treat promptly any new possible safety hazards associated with these changes. If such a hazard cannot be readily eliminated, warning signs, barricades, or posted instructions should be installed.

With the increasing use of belt conveyors in the transportation of bulk materials, the number and severity of accidents have been reduced. When conveyors are used as a means of transport in the place of vehicular units, such as railcars and trucks, the problem of traffic related accidents is minimized. Also, environmentally related health problems can be easily limited by the elimination of dust hazards. Indeed, belt conveyors have substantially reduced the hazards present in practically any other method of bulk materials handling. The further reduction in number and severity of accidents will be a direct result of applying and enforcing the safe practices of design, installation, operation, and maintenance.

credits to: Belt conveyors for bulk materials, 3rd edition
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