Chapter 5 -
The Utilization of Industry Consensus Standards

---

The Utilization of Industry Consensus Standards

OSHA uses industry consensus standards, related to the safe operation of equipment, as guidance of the industry accepted practice for safe operations. Industry consensus standards which describe equipment configuration or design but which do not describe safe and/or healthful use and operation of the equipment are of limited assistance to OSHA. In any event, even when an industry consensus standard addresses safety/health considerations, OSHA may determine that the safety/health practices described by that industry consensus standard are deficient when related to the requirement(s) set forth by the pertinent OSHA regulation(s). However, many of the various ANSI safety standards devoted to the safe use of equipment and machines are pertinent and provide valuable guidance as they relate to the multitude of safe operating procedures regularly discussed in ANSI safety standards.

All of the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.212, are applicable to machines found in industry. Paragraph (a)(1), requires that employees be protected from the hazards created by the point of operation, ingoing nip points, and rotating parts. Paragraph (a)(2), describes the manner in which guards shall be affixed. The proper application of devices are not described; therefore, other similar OSHA or pertinent industry standards must be referred to for guidance. Paragraph (a)(3) describes, with particularity, the requirements for safeguarding the point of operation.

The OSHA standard specifically requires that at the point of operation, "the guarding device shall be in conformity with any appropriate standards therefore, or in the absence of applicable specific standards, shall be so designed and constructed as to prevent the operator from having any part of his body in the danger zone during the operating cycle. "Applicable standards include any similar OSHA standard or any OSHA adopted industry consensus standard(s) which provide for the safety of the operator during the operating cycle. However, any specific industry consensus standard, such as an ANSI standard for the particular machine or equipment, should be used for guidance relative to the accepted procedures for safeguarding workers and operators from the recognized hazards of the equipment.

Employers who comply with the requirements of an industry consensus standard rather than a specific OSHA standard, where such compliance deviates from the OSHA requirements but provides for a more conservative safeguarding concept, are categorized as having created a de minimis violation of the specific OSHA standard. (A de minimis violation is a violation of an OSHA standard that has no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health. Such de minimis violations require no correction and result in no penalty.)

OSHA encourages employers to abide by the more current industry consensus standards since those standards are more likely to be abreast of the state of the art than an applicable OSHA standard may be. Furthermore, the industry consensus standards will usually discuss a variety of techniques for averting exposure to the identified hazards of the machine or process.

Listing of Specific ANSI Safety Standards

ANSI B11.1-1982	Mechanical Power Presses
ANSI B11.2-1982	Hydraulic Power Presses
ANSI B11.3-1982	Power Press Brakes
ANSI B11.4-1983	Shears
ANSI B11.5-1988	Iron Workers
ANSI B11.6-1984	Lathes
ANSI B11.7-1985	Cold Headers and Cold Formers
ANSI B11.8-1983	Drilling, Milling, and Boring Machines
ANSI B11.9-1975	Grinding Machines
ANSI B11.10-1983	Metal Sawing Machines
ANSI B11.11-1985	Gear Cutting Machines
ANSI B11.12-1983	Roll Forming and Roll Bending Machines
ANSI B11.13-1983	Single- and Multiple-Spindle Automatic Screw/Bar and Chucking Machines
ANSI B11.14-1983	Coil Slitting Machines/Equipment
ANSI B11.15-1984	Pipe, Tube, and Shape Bending Machines
ANSI B11.17-1982	Horizontal Hydraulic Extrusion Presses
ANSI B11.18-1985	Machinery and Machine Systems for the Processing of Coiled Strip, Sheet, and Plate
ANSI B11.19-1990	Machine Tools, Safeguarding
ANSI B11.20-1991	Manufacturing Systems/Cells
(ANSI B15.1-1994/6)	Power Transmission Apparatus
ANSI B19.1-1990	Air Compressor Systems
ANSI B19.3-1986/90	Compressors for Process Industries
ANSI B20.1-1990	Conveyors and Related Equipment
ANSI B24.1-1985	Forging Machinery
ANSI B28.6-1983	Rubber Machinery, Hose
ANSI B28.7-1983	Rubber Machinery, Hose
ANSI B28.8-1983	Rubber Machinery, Hose
ANSI B28.9-1983	Rubber Machinery, Hose
ANSI B28.10-1986	Rubber Machinery, Endless Belt
ANSI B30.16-1987	Overhead Hoists
ANSI B151.1-1990	Plastics Injection Molding Machinery, Horizontal
ANSI B151.2-1982/88	Plastics Machinery, Film Casting
ANSI B151.3-1982/88	Plastics Machinery, Screen Changers
ANSI B151.4-1982/88	Plastics Machinery, Blown Film Takeoff & Auxiliary Equipment
ANSI B151.5-1982/88	Plastics Machinery, Film & Sheet Winding
ANSI B151.6-1982/88	Plastics Machinery, Slit Tape & Monofilament Postextrusion Equipment
ANSI B151.7-1982/88	Plastics & Rubber Extrusion Machinery
ANSI B151.11-1982	Plastics Machinery, Granulators, Pelletizers, & Dicers
ANSI B151.15-1985	Plastics Machinery, Extrusion Blow Molding
ANSI B151.21-1986	Plastics Machinery, Injection Blow Molding
ANSI B151.25-1988	Plastics Machinery, Injection Molding
ANSI B152.2-1982	Permanent-Mold Casting Machines (Other than Gray Iron)
ANSI B153.1-1990	Automotive Lifts
ANSI B155.1-1986	Packaging Machinery
ANSI B169.1-1990	Envelope Manufacturing Machinery
ANSI B176-1985	Copper-Alloy Diecasting
ANSI B177.2-1977/82	Printing Ink Vertical Post Mixers
ANSI/NEMA ICS2:225.95-1983	Interlocking Control Circuits for Personnel Protection
ANSI/NFPA 79-1991	Electrical Standard for Industrial Machinery
ANSI/RIA R15.06-1986	Industrial Robots and Robot Systems
ANSI Z8.1-1972	Commercial Laundry & Dry-Cleaning Equipment
ANSI Z241.1-1989	Foundry, Sand Prep., Molding, & Core-Making
ANSI Z241.2-1989	Foundry, Melting & Pouring of Metals
ANSI Z241.3-1989	Foundry, Cleaning & Finishing of Castings
ANSI Z245.1-1984	Refuse Collecting & Compacting Equipment
ANSI Z245.3-1977/83	Stability of Refuse Bins
ANSI Z245.5-1982	Bailing Equipment
ANSI Z268.1-1082	Metal Scrap Processing Equipment

Go to Chapter 6