OSHA looks to update its mechanical power press standard

Occupational Safety and Health Administration is looking to modernize its mechanical power press standard, which hasn't been updated in 50 years. OSHA received 246 reports of amputations in the fabricated metal product manufacturing industry in 2015. Getty Images

Those in the metal forming industry should take note. President Joe Biden’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is resuscitating an effort dropped 15 years ago to modernize its mechanical power presses safety standard.

OSHA’s “request for information” issued at the end of July asks some of the same questions the Bush administration asked in 2007, after which it dropped its inclination to update the 1971-vintage standard, which was based on the 1971 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard B11.1. That standard has been revised a number of times in the last 50 years, most recently in 2009 (ANSI B11.1-2009).

One of the reasons OSHA now is considering changes in the standard is a concern about presses causing amputations and other gruesome injuries, such as crushed bones and lacerations. Agency officials also believe the use of presence-sensing device initiation (PSDI) systems would lead to better safety outcomes in the metalworking industry.

Besides contemplating allowing metal formers and fabricators more freedom to use PSDI systems, the agency also is seeking information on the types of presses that should be covered; the use and certification of equipment; and requirements for press modifications, training, and injury reporting.

The Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) submitted 12 pages of detailed comments in 2007 when the Bush administration contemplated changes in the standard.

“We’re reviewing OSHA’s latest request for information on updating the mechanical power press standard, and PMA plans to file comments in the coming months,” said Christie Carmigiano, PMA’s spokeswoman.

The agency particularly seems focused on finding a way to allow PSDI, which is not allowed under the 1971 standard. The agency did give an experimental variance in 1976 to Interlake Stamping Co. of Willoughby, Ohio, that allowed the company to use PSDI on mechanical power presses. That led to increased productivity and reduced worker fatigue, a recognized cause of accidents. During a 26-year period, no Interlake Stamping workers were injured while using PSDI.

In 1988 OSHA allowed the use of PSDI on mechanical power presses. Among other requirements, OSHA required that OSHA-approved third parties validate the PSDI systems upon installation and at least annually thereafter. OSHA believed that national testing laboratories and industry organizations would conduct the third-party validation. To date, however, no third party has sought OSHA approval to conduct third-party validation. So despite its advantages in metalworking, PSDI is not used today because of the 1971 OSHA standard.

In its 2007 comments, PMA had some choice words for the validation requirement: “The current OSHA regulation holds the validator to an unattainable standard.”

The safety benefits of PSDI are particularly important in terms of preventing amputations. In 2015 OSHA received 246 reports of amputations in the fabricated metal product manufacturing industry. There is no further breakdown of the data into how many amputations occurred on power presses, much less mechanical power presses, but research from the late 1980s suggested that about 10% of all reported amputations occur among power press operators, according to the OSHA.

Plenty of mechanical presses in U.S. manufacturing machines could be undergoing some upgrades if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration alters its mechanical power presses safety standard to allow for presence-sensing device initiation (PSDI) systems. Getty Images

The OSHA standard includes requirements for inspecting, maintaining, and modifying mechanical power presses to ensure that they are operating safely and includes a special reporting requirement for injuries to employees operating mechanical power presses. The standard also includes requirements for safeguarding the point of operation.

The agency is considering a number of options, including whether it should use ANSI B11.1 as the basis for a standard update, and if it does, whether it should exclude all of the machines that ANSI B11.1-2009 excludes, such as cold headers and formers, metal shears, powdered metal presses, press welders, turret and plate-punching machines, wire termination machines, and welding machines.