Conveyor Safety
Conveyors move material through plants, warehouses, quarries and job sites. Most serious conveyor injuries happen when someone reaches in to clear a jam or clean while the belt is running. A belt can pull in a hand or arm faster than you can react.
- General Industry
- Warehousing
- Aggregates
Photo: guarded tail pulley and an emergency pull cord along a belt conveyor
Hazards
- Nip points at head and tail pulleys, rollers, idlers and where belts meet drums
- Shear points and pinch points at transfer points, chains and sprockets
- Falling material from overhead conveyors
- Getting clothing, hair, gloves or rags caught
- Unexpected start-up, including automatic starts in conveyor systems
- Stored energy: tensioned belts, gravity take-ups and loads that can roll back
Common conveyor types
| Type | Where | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Belt | Quarries, plants, baggage, packaging | Pulley nip points, carryback and cleaning |
| Powered roller | Warehouses and distribution | Pinch points between rollers, items jamming |
| Screw (auger) | Grain, feed, bulk materials | Open screw flights; can amputate feet and legs |
| Chain and slat | Manufacturing, food plants | Chain and sprocket pinch points |
| Portable and telescoping | Jobsites, truck loading | Power lines, tipping, guarding missing after moves |
Safe practices
- Know where the emergency stops and pull cords are, and keep them working and reachable.
- Lock out the conveyor before clearing jams, cleaning, or doing maintenance. See Lockout/Tagout.
- Release or block stored energy, like belt tension and gravity take-ups, before working.
- Keep guards on pulleys, drives, take-ups and nip points; put them back after maintenance.
- Use crossover bridges. Never climb on, over or under a conveyor.
- Sound the start-up warning and check that everyone is clear before starting.
- Wear close-fitting clothes; tie back long hair; no loose jewelry.
- Never ride a conveyor.
- Don’t use a shovel or bar on a moving belt to clean it.
- Don’t reach past a guard, even for a second.
- Don’t use an emergency stop as a lockout; it isn’t one.
Jams are the trap. Production pressure makes clearing a jam “just this once” tempting. Stop, lock out and verify. See Clearing Jams and Emergency Stops.
Daily conveyor check
- Guards in place and secured
- Emergency stops and pull cords tested as required
- Start-up alarm working
- Walkways and crossovers clear and in good condition
- No spillage building up around pulleys
- Damage or belt tracking problems reported
Standards & references
- 29 CFR 1926.555: Conveyors (construction)
- 29 CFR 1910.212: Machine guarding
- ASME B20.1: Safety standard for conveyors and related equipment
- MSHA 30 CFR 56.14107 and 56.14112: Guarding moving machine parts (mines and quarries)
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