June 13, 2007—The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposal to update its general industry mechanical power press safety standard. The update would address issues related to industry consensus standards, technical and cost issues and training, as well as reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
The existing standard is based primarily upon the 1971 edition of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B 11.1, the industry consensus standard for mechanical power presses, says OSHA. This ANSI standard has been updated a number of times since OSHA adopted the 1971 version. The most recent edition was issued in 2001.
Based on OSHA’s extensive review of the standard, the agency decided to begin development of a proposal to update all of §1910.217 to be consistent with ANSI B 11.1—2001 or a comparable consensus standard. OSHA determined that an update would address industry concerns that the mechanical power press standard is out of date and could be made safer.
For more information on the proposal or on how to submit comments, see the Federal Register notice.
