Physical Barriers as Addressed in the Updated ANSI B11.19 Standard: Guards, Shields, and Awareness Barriers
Physical barriers are commonly used as a means to reduce risk in the workplace. The use of guards tends to be the common approach to reduce risk associated with industrial machinery, given their simplicity and proven effectiveness. However, there are many nuances associated with the different types of physical barriers that are now addressed in the updated ANSI B11.19 Standard.
In general, there are three types of physical barriers: guards, shields, and awareness barriers. To summarize quickly, a guard is intended to keep people out, a shield is intended to keep hazards in, and an awareness barrier is intended to provide a warning.
With this recent update of the ANSI B11.19 Standard, we’d like to provide you an overview of how this new standard may affect your facility and what you can do to stay compliant. In this six part white paper series, each paper will highlight a different aspect of the newest edition of the standard. In this fourth white paper, we’ll discuss physical barriers in detail as addressed in the latest ANSI B11.19 Standard.
Miss the previous three white papers? Check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3!
This white paper series is meant for guidance only and is accurate as of the time of publication. When implementing any safety measures, we recommend consulting a safety professional.
