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Machine guarding inspection sheet

A machine guarding inspection sheet records, machine by machine, whether every moving hazard sits behind a guard that is in place and working. In the United States the general rule is OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212: guarding must protect people from the point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts and flying chips, with 1910.219 covering belts, gears, shafting and flywheels. OSHA's preliminary list for fiscal year 2026, to 31 August 2026, puts machine guarding tenth among the most cited standards. This template has 21 checks in five groups, each with the paragraph it comes from, written in our own words. The Excel version keeps a register that works out the next due date and one status per machine, checks a guard opening against OSHA's Table O-10, and runs an action log that shows how long each fail has been open. A guard that is missing or defeated takes the machine out of use under an example rule the sheet sets, which is not OSHA wording. It is not legal advice, and a passed sheet does not mean the machine complies: follow the standard that applies where you are, the maker's manual and a qualified person.

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Page 1 of the machine guarding inspection sheetFields for machine, area and date, eight hazard tick boxes, 21 checks in five groups with their OSHA references, and columns for pass, fail or N/A, guard missing or defeated, action number and what was found.
21 checks with OSHA referencesMachine register with due datesOne status per machineGuard opening check (Table O-10)Fan guard 1/2 in ruleAction log with days openSummary with chartWorked example
Filled-in Machine guarding inspection sheet: ten made-up machines, one inspection and its actions
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 3 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a machine guarding inspection sheet

  • As a recurring walk-round of lathes, drill presses, press brakes, saws, grinders, conveyors, mixers and packaging machines, on an interval your site sets (the example is 30 days).
  • Before an OSHA visit, an insurance survey or a customer audit, to show that each machine was checked, when, and what was done about every fail.
  • After a guard has come off for maintenance, a changeover or a repair, and before the machine runs again.
  • When a new or second-hand machine arrives, to check that every hazard is guarded before it goes into production.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Put every machine on the register

    Machine ID, name, area and owner. Mark which of the eight hazards it has: point of operation, nip points, rotating parts, power transmission, cutting, reciprocating or transversing motion, flying chips and exposed fan blades. Set the interval in days; 30 is the example, not an OSHA figure.

  2. 2

    Inspect one machine at a time

    Check the guards with the machine stopped, test interlocks and safeguarding devices as the maker says, then watch a cycle from outside the guard. Use the 21 checks in five groups.

  3. 3

    Mark Pass, Fail or N/A

    N/A only where the machine really has no such part, such as no revolving drum, no fan blades or no gears. A check nobody did is not a pass: the sheet shows it as not checked.

  4. 4

    Decide about every fail

    Is a guard missing or defeated, meaning removed, jumpered, taped or wedged? If so the sheet's example rule applies: the machine stays out of use until a trained person has fixed and tested it.

  5. 5

    Log each fail with an owner and a due date

    Pick a severity (out of service, before next shift or by due date), write the action, name the owner and set the date. The log shows open, overdue and closed, and how many days each has been open.

  6. 6

    Measure openings when you buy or change a guard

    Enter the distance from the hazard and the opening width in inches. For a mechanical power press the sheet looks up the largest opening in Table O-10; for other machines it shows the same table as a reference; fan guards are checked against 1/2 in.

  7. 7

    Record the result on the register

    Enter the date and Pass or Fail. The register works out the next due date and gives each machine one status: out of service, overdue, failed last time, due or not due.

The 21 checks

Five groups of checks and where each comes from

From OSHA 29 CFR 1910 as read on eCFR on 14 October 2026, and OSHA publication 3170 (2007), in plain words. Read the standard for the exact wording.

  • 1 Guards

    What it checks
    Every hazard behind a guard fixed to the machine; nothing removed or worked around; no pinch point made by the guard; openings too small to reach through
    Checks
    5
    Where it comes from
    1910.212(a)(1) to (a)(3)(ii); OSHA 3170 p.11

  • 2 Point of operation and named machines

    What it checks
    The point of operation, hand tools, revolving drums, fan blades under 7 ft, abrasive wheels
    Checks
    5
    Where it comes from
    1910.212(a)(3) to (a)(5); 1910.215(a)

  • 3 Power transmission

    What it checks
    Belts, pulleys, chains, gears, shafting, flywheels, clutches and couplings
    Checks
    4
    Where it comes from
    1910.219(b) to (k)

  • 4 Controls and interlocks

    What it checks
    Interlocks, safeguarding devices, foot controls, emergency stops
    Checks
    4
    Where it comes from
    1910.212(a)(1), (a)(4); OSHA 3170 pp.12, 13, 18, 19

  • 5 Anchoring, servicing and restart

    What it checks
    Fixed machines anchored; lockout where servicing needs a guard off; check before restart
    Checks
    3
    Where it comes from
    1910.212(b); 1910.147(a)(2)(ii), (e)(1)

What's on the checklist

The 21 checks on the machine guarding inspection sheet

Five groups, from guards to restart after servicing. The reference in brackets is the part of OSHA 29 CFR 1910 (or OSHA publication 3170) each check comes from, written in our own words. On the sheet each check is Pass, Fail or N/A, and a fail where a guard is missing or defeated takes the machine out of service under the sheet's example rule.

Guards

Every hazard behind a guard that is fixed, whole and not a hazard itself

  1. 1Each hazard listed on the register has a guard or a safeguarding device [1910.212(a)(1)]
  2. 2Guards are fixed to the machine, not just placed near it, with every fastener present and tight [1910.212(a)(2)]
  3. 3No guard has been taken off, propped open, left off after a job or worked around [1910.212(a)(1), (a)(2)]
  4. 4A guard does not make a hazard of its own: no pinch, shear or sharp edge between it and a moving part [1910.212(a)(2); OSHA 3170 p.11]
  5. 5Guard openings are small enough that a hand or finger cannot reach the hazard, and the guard is not cracked or bent [1910.212(a)(3)(ii); OSHA 3170 p.11]

Point of operation and named machines

Where the work is done, and the machines the standard names

  1. 6The point of operation is guarded so no part of the body can be in the danger zone during the cycle [1910.212(a)(3)(ii)]
  2. 7Hand tools for loading and unloading, where used, keep hands out and add to the guard, never replace it [1910.212(a)(3)(iii)]
  3. 8A revolving drum, barrel or container is enclosed, and the enclosure is interlocked so it cannot turn without it [1910.212(a)(4)]
  4. 9Fan blades less than 7 ft above the floor or working level are guarded, with openings no larger than 1/2 in [1910.212(a)(5)]
  5. 10Abrasive wheel: the guard covers the spindle end, nut and flange, and the work rest is within 1/8 in of the wheel [1910.215(a)(2), (a)(4)]

Power transmission

Belts, pulleys, chains, gears, shafts, flywheels and couplings

  1. 11Belt, rope and chain drives and pulleys within 7 ft of the floor or platform are guarded [1910.219(d)(1), (e), (f)(3)]
  2. 12Gears are enclosed or have a guard of one of the kinds the standard lists [1910.219(f)(1)]
  3. 13Shafting within 7 ft of the floor is cased or troughed, shaft ends are smooth or capped and unused keyways are filled [1910.219(c)(2), (c)(4)]
  4. 14Flywheels, clutches and couplings are guarded, and keys and set screws in revolving parts are flush or covered [1910.219(b)(1), (h)(1), (i)(2), (k)(1)]

Controls and interlocks

The parts that stop the machine, or stop it starting

  1. 15Each interlock stops the machine or blocks a start when its guard opens, and has not been jumpered, taped or bypassed [1910.212(a)(1), (a)(4); OSHA 3170 p.12]
  2. 16Safeguarding devices (light curtain, two-hand control, gate, pullback) work as the maker says and sit at their safe distance [1910.212(a)(1); OSHA 3170 p.13]
  3. 17Foot controls are guarded against accidental operation and cannot cycle the machine on their own [OSHA 3170 p.19]
  4. 18Emergency stops are within reach and work. They add to guarding and never replace it [OSHA 3170 p.18]

Anchoring, servicing and restart

The machine in its place, and what happens when a guard comes off for a job

  1. 19A machine made for a fixed place is anchored so it cannot walk or move [1910.212(b)]
  2. 20Where servicing means removing a guard or reaching into the danger zone, a lockout procedure covers this machine [1910.147(a)(2)(ii)]
  3. 21After servicing, the area is checked and the components are intact, guards and devices refitted, before the machine restarts [1910.147(e)(1)]

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: 10 made-up machines at a made-up plant, as of 15 October 2026, on a 30-day interval (90 days for the wall fan) with a 7-day due-soon window (illustrative).

  • The packaging sealer M-05 is inspected: 21 checks, 11 pass, 1 fail and 9 N/A (no hand tools, drum, fan, wheel, gears, shafting, flywheel, light curtain or foot control). The fail is a door interlock jumpered with a wire, so the result is: guard missing or defeated, take out of service.
  • Three machines are out of service because a guard is missing or defeated: the drill press (belt guard off), the sealer (interlock jumpered) and the mixer (drum interlock taped over). The drill press action, due 14 October, is overdue.
  • The belt conveyor M-04 was last inspected 33 days ago against a 30-day interval, so it is 3 days overdue. The extruder M-08 is due in 3 days.
  • The grinder M-06 failed its last inspection: the work rest was 3/16 in from the wheel against the 1/8 in maximum in 1910.215(a)(4). The fix is closed, but the status stays failed last time until a new inspection passes.
  • Opening checks: the press brake guard, 4 in from the hazard, has a 5/8 in opening, and the table allows 5/8 in at 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 in, so it passes at exactly the limit. A planned conveyor mesh with 1/2 in openings, 2 in from the nip, is too wide: the table allows 3/8 in.

Statuses: 3 out of service, 1 overdue, 1 failed last time, 1 due and 4 not due. 9 of 10 machines are inside their interval and 6 of 10 passed their last inspection. 4 actions are logged: 3 open (1 overdue) and 1 closed, and the open ones average 4.0 days old.

Common mistakes

  • Counting a guard that is jumpered as a guard

    A guard that is in place but defeated, with the interlock jumpered, taped or wedged, protects nobody. OSHA 3170 notes that some interlock designs are easy to defeat. Test the interlock; do not just look at it.

  • Checking only the point of operation

    OSHA 3170 names three kinds of hazardous component: the point of operation, power transmission apparatus such as belts, chains and gears, and other moving parts. Conveyor injuries typically involve hands or fingers caught in nip or shear points.

  • Treating an emergency stop or a foot pedal as the safeguard

    OSHA 3170 says emergency stop devices are not machine safeguarding, and a foot control that is not securely fixed at a safe distance does not keep hands out of the danger area. They add to a guard; they never replace one.

  • Applying Table O-10 to every machine

    The table is in 1910.217, which covers mechanical power presses; press brakes, hydraulic and pneumatic presses and some other machines are outside that section. On other machines it is a reference. 1910.212(a)(3)(ii) asks that no part of the body can reach the danger zone.

  • Logging a fail with no owner or date

    An action without a due date can never become overdue, so nothing chases it. The log's check column flags a missing due date, and the register shows every machine with an open action.

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FAQ

Machine guarding inspection sheet: common questions

  1. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1) asks for one or more methods of guarding to protect the operator and others from hazards such as the point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts and flying chips and sparks. Guards are fixed to the machine where possible and must not be a hazard themselves, and a machine made for a fixed place is anchored. Belts, gears, shafting and flywheels have their own rules in 1910.219.

  2. 1910.212 sets no inspection interval for guards. The 30 days in the example is a value this template sets, so choose yours from how the machine is used, how often guards come off, the maker's manual and your own incident history. Mechanical power presses have inspection and maintenance rules of their own in 1910.217(e).

  3. For mechanical power presses, Table O-10 in 1910.217 gives the largest opening for each distance from the hazard: 1/4 in at 1/2 to 1 1/2 in, rising to 2 1/8 in at 17 1/2 to 31 1/2 in. Fan blades less than 7 ft above the floor need openings no larger than 1/2 in under 1910.212(a)(5). The sheet's opening check does the lookup, and for machines other than presses it is a reference only.

  4. Under this sheet's example rule the machine stays out of use until a trained person has fixed and tested the guard. That rule is the template's own, not OSHA wording. OSHA 3170 says to report missing or damaged guards at once, and lockout/tagout under 1910.147 protects the people who service the machine.

  5. The safety audit checklist asks plant-wide yes or no questions and has only 3 or 4 on guarding. This sheet goes machine by machine, with a register, due dates, an opening check and an action log. The lockout/tagout procedure template writes the steps for isolating energy while a machine is serviced, and this one checks the guards that protect people while it runs.

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