CF ChatterFix
Safety Inspection

Machine Guarding & Light Curtain Test

The clamp on a molding machine develops enough force to be immediately fatal. Gate interlocks and light curtains are the controls that stand between a technician's hands and that force — and they are the first thing defeated when a tool needs frequent intervention.

Interval Monthly
Est. Duration 1.5 hrs
Steps 4
Applies To Plastics & Injection Molding, Automotive & Metal Fabrication

The Procedure

The steps ChatterFix schedules for this PM. Every step is a checkable item on the work order — a technician can speak their way through it without touching a keyboard.

  1. Test each safety gate interlock stops clamp motion
  2. Verify light curtain response with a test rod
  3. Confirm the mechanical safety prop is present and serviceable
  4. Check that no interlock has been bypassed or taped

Why This PM Exists

The clamp on a molding machine develops enough force to be immediately fatal. Gate interlocks and light curtains are the controls that stand between a technician's hands and that force — and they are the first thing defeated when a tool needs frequent intervention.

What Skipping It Looks Like

Bypassed interlocks that become normal practice, and a crush injury during routine work that everyone had done safely a hundred times before.

Setting the interval

Monthly functional testing of every interlock and curtain, and immediately after any guard or control modification. Taped or bypassed interlocks are a stop-work finding.

Equipment This Covers

Common Questions

How often should this PM run?
Monthly. Monthly functional testing of every interlock and curtain, and immediately after any guard or control modification. Taped or bypassed interlocks are a stop-work finding.
How long does it take?
Budget about 1.5 hours for a technician working to the standard procedure. ChatterFix uses that estimate for capacity planning, then learns your plant's actual time from completed work orders.
What happens if we skip it?
Bypassed interlocks that become normal practice, and a crush injury during routine work that everyone had done safely a hundred times before.
Can I use this checklist in ChatterFix?
Yes — this exact procedure ships in the Plastics & Injection Molding and Automotive & Metal Fabrication industry pack. Pick your industry at signup and it is scheduled on the right assets automatically, with no configuration.

Related Procedures

Stop Retyping Your PM Library

This procedure — and every other PM for your industry — is already built into ChatterFix. Pick your industry and it lands on the right equipment, on the right interval, in about three minutes.