SECTION 45.1-161.124. Shop and other equipment  

A. The following items of shop and other equipment shall be guarded and maintained adequately:

1. Gears, sprockets, pulleys, fan blades or propellers, friction devices and couplings with protruding bolts or nuts;

2. Shafting and projecting shaft ends that are within seven feet of floor or platform level;

3. Belt, chain or rope drives that are within seven feet of the floor or platform;

4. Fly wheels, provided that fly wheels extending more than seven feet above the floor shall be guarded to a height of at least seven feet;

5. Circular and band saws and planers;

6. Repair pits, provided that guards shall be kept in place when the pits are not in use;

7. Counterweights; and

8. The approach to mine fans shall be guarded.

B. Machinery shall not be repaired or serviced while the machinery is in motion; however, this shall not apply where safe remote devices are used.

C. A guard or safety device removed from any machine shall be replaced before the machine is put in operation.

D. Mechanically operated grinding wheels shall be equipped with (i) safety washers and tool rests; (ii) substantial retaining hoods, the hood opening of which shall not expose more than a 90 degree sector of the wheel; and (iii) eyeshields, unless goggles are worn by the miners. Retaining hoods shall include either a device to control and collect excess rock, metal or dust particles, or a device providing equivalent protection to the miners operating such machinery.

E. The operator or his agent shall develop procedures for examining for potential hazards, completing proper maintenance, and properly operating each type of centrifugal pump. The procedures shall, at a minimum, address the manufacturer's recommendations for start-up and shutdown of the pumps, proper actions to be taken when a pump is suspected of overheating, safe location of start and stop switches, and actions to be taken when signs of structural metal fatigue such as cracks in the frame, damaged cover mounting brackets, or missing bolts or other components are detected. All miners who repair, maintain, or operate such pumps shall be trained in these procedures.

Code 1950, § 45-85.3; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, § 45.1-88; 1978, c. 118; 1994, c. 28 ; 1999, c. 28 ; 2005, c. 28 .