WAC 296-806-30004   Safeguard belt and rope drives.  

Exemption:
	• You do not need to safeguard the following types of belts when they are operating at two hundred and fifty linear feet per minute or less:
	– Flat belts that are:
	▪ One inch wide or less.
	▪ Two inches wide or less and have no metal lacings or fasteners.
	– Round belts one-half inch or less in diameter.
	– Single-strand v-belts 13/32 inch wide or less.
	• You do not need to safeguard belts that are in a room, vault, or similar space that contains only power transmission parts or equipment if the space:
	– Is controlled by lock and key or has similarly restricted access that allows only authorized persons to enter.
	– Is well lit.
	– Has a dry, level, and firm floor.
	– Has a well-marked route with a vertical clearance of at least five feet six inches for authorized employees to follow to perform their duties.
	• You do not need to safeguard belt drives of light or medium duty sewing machines if all of the following apply:
	– It uses either a flat or a round belt without metal lacings and fasteners.
	– The belt is located above the table top.
	– The table top is designed so that employees near the machine are not exposed to motion hazards while they work or as they pass by.
	– The machine is not used to sew heavy materials such as leather, canvas, denim, or vinyl.
	– The operators' hands are not in, near, or on the wheel, nip point, belt area, or other motion hazard when the machine is operating.

Reference:

You may need to follow additional requirements for sewing machines. See, Sewing machines, WAC 296-806-485, later in this chapter for more information.

     You must:

     • Safeguard belt or rope drives that are seven feet or less above the floor or working surface.

Reference:	In the absence of a specific safeguarding method, follow the safeguarding requirements found in safeguarding methods, WAC 296-806-20042 through 296-806-20058. Examples of safeguarding methods include:
	• Guards.
	• Devices.
	• Safeguarding by distance.
	• Safeguarding by location.

Note:	You may use a nip point and pulley guard on a vertical or inclined belt if it meets all of the following requirements:
	• Two and one-half inches wide or less.
	• Running at a speed of less than one thousand feet per minute.
	• Free from metal lacings or fastenings.

     You must:

     • Safeguard overhead belts located more than seven feet above the floor or working surface if any of the following apply:

     – The belt is located over a passageway or work space and travels at a speed of eighteen hundred feet per minute or more.

     – The distance between the centers of its pulleys is ten feet or more.

     – The belt is wider than eight inches.

     • Safeguard the space between the upper and lower runs of a horizontal belt if there is enough room for an employee to pass between them by providing both:

     – A guard along the upper run to keep the belt from contacting the worker or anything they may be carrying;

     AND

     – A platform over the lower run that has a railing that is completely filled in with wire mesh or other filler or by a solid barrier.

Note:

The passage between the two belts is considered safeguarded if you completely block it with a guardrail or other barrier.

Exemption:

In a power generating room, only the lower run of a horizontal belt has to be safeguarded.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, and 49.17.060. 04-14-028, § 296-806-30004, filed 6/29/04, effective 1/1/05.]