Conveyor Safety Isn’t Optional. Full Stop.

In honor of Safety Month, we’re talking about a topic that’s easy to overlook but critical to get right: conveyor safety.

And I’ll be honest—I’ve got some firsthand experience here. I joke about Barbie hair in conveyor chain, but watching her hair get sucked into the conveyor chain was actually, uh, formative is a delicate way of putting it?

It definitely instilled in me an early understanding of why hair ties and hairnets are important PPE.

I also know from experience that a properly adjusted safety clutch is the difference between a cool scar and nerve damage, and losing a fingertip. Pinch points are no joke.

Conveyors are efficient, reliable, and getting safer all the time, but they’re also full of moving parts, stored energy, and potential hazards. Ironically, the more comfortable you get around them, the more dangerous they can become. Everyone worries about “the new guy”; but in my opinion, complacency is the real threat.

Conveyors are like livestock: you can appreciate and work with them, but never completely trust them.

So here are the top five conveyor safety hazards I’ve seen (and sometimes experienced), and how to avoid them.

1. Pinch Points

Anywhere two parts move together – belt pulleys, roller chains, chain links, or transfers – there’s a risk of fingers, clothing, or tools getting caught.

Confession: when I was younger, I had a habit of running my fingers lightly over conveyor chain while it ran. It was fine, until it wasn’t. I got my finger sucked into a powered transfer section. Thanks to our policy of adjusting safety clutches to the lowest effective pressure during assembly, I didn’t lose the finger. But it was a painful lesson in pinch points!

(Slip Clutches are really for protecting your conveyor and your products, so if you want to learn how to adjust your slip clutch see page 66 of the conveyor assembly manual.)

How to reduce the risk:

• Install physical guarding or covers
• Use warning labels
• Keep hands and tools away during operation
• Train employees to recognize and respect danger zones

Pro Tip: End drives and idlers are some of the most common pinch-point culprits, especially on modular chain systems.

2. Entanglement Risks

Loose clothing, long hair, jewelry, and lanyards are all just waiting to get sucked into conveyor chains and belts.

How to reduce the risk:

• Enforce dress code and PPE policies
• Guard exposed shafts and drives
• Use slip clutches to reduce injury risk
• Keep conveyors clean and free of debris
• Do not put Barbie dolls directly on the conveyor

3. Uncontrolled Product

If product on your conveyor is not encompassed by well designed guide rail, or if the conveyor is running faster than it was designed to, products can, and will, fall and fly off. Especially at curves or transfers!

True story: I once saw a can shoot off the end of a conveyor and explode against a wall. It had tipped over, so instead of being contained it slipped under the guide rail and launched into the far wall at a couple hundred FPM.

So loosed product is not just a consideration for overhead conveyors! Product unexpectedly leaving the conveyor even at standard or low-height can be dangerous!

How to reduce the risk:

• Add or adjust guide rails to support all possible product orientations
• Use containment solutions like sidewalls, enclosures, or nets
• Match conveyor speed to design specs and product rates
• Employ controls to accumulate and buffer product safely

4. Lack of Caution or Guarding During Maintenance

“I’m just going to check something real quick” are famous last words on a farm and in a manufacturing facility, and they are often uttered while taking a guard off “just to look”.

You really don’t want to see what happens when someone tries to adjust roller chain tension while the conveyor is running. It is not pretty.

How to reduce the risk:

• Give maintenance staff time and support to follow the correct safety steps
• Implement and follow Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures
• Use interlocked guards wherever possible
• Stock spare guards; broken or missing ones often don’t get replaced

Remember: five minutes “saved” by skipping a step can turn into a five-hour ER visit.

5. Inadequate Training

Equipment is getting smarter and safer every year; but the safety of your system still depends on the people running it. In my experience, complacency is the number one cause of conveyor-related injuries.

How to reduce the risk:

• Make safety part of your company culture, not just a checklist
• Provide regular safety training, not just on Day 1
• Use signage, labels, and floor markings

Safety Isn’t a Luxury; It’s a Necessity

Conveyor-related injuries are almost always preventable, and preventing them doesn’t have to be expensive.

Pay attention to how your operators actually interact with your systems. Design your guarding and procedures to allow them to accomplish their jobs in the safest way possible. Make operating equipment safely the easy option to keep your team safe, and remember, just because it is familiar doesn’t mean it is safe. Address complacency to improve safety.

Want help identifying the weak spots in your conveyor safety setup?
See our Spotlight on Conveyor Safety PDF, or we’d be happy to take a look. Let’s talk.