March 19, 2003—The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is leading a project with business, labor, and insurance industry partners to evaluate the effectiveness of an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) voluntary guideline to prevent injuries from heavy industrial machinery.
The ANSI guideline, ANSI B11 TR3, describes a strategic process for employers to use in assessing the risk of such injuries in their workplaces. By performing such an assessment, companies can determine where best to focus efforts to reduce those risks. The ANSI guideline tailors the concepts of an international voluntary standard, ISO 14121, to the US workplace. The new procedure is expected to be particularly effective for reducing risks during machine maintenance tasks.
The NIOSH-led study will compare operations involving two similar machines within several companies. In one setting, the ANSI TR3 process will be adopted. Results of the study will help employers assess the effectiveness of the ANSI guideline in practice, and will help them decide whether to invest in new procedures with assurance that the changes are likely to improve safety in their workplaces.
NIOSH will publish the results and make them widely available to employers, employees, safety professionals, and other partners. The point of contact for technical questions about the project is John R. Etherton, John R. Etherton, PhD, NIOSH Division of Safety Research, at 304/285-5985. For further information about NIOSH research and recommendations for preventing work-related injuries and illnesses, call 800/35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674) or visit NIOSH.
