Minor Servicing Exemptions for Employers

Submitted by Kevin Russell, founder and owner of A Safer Way
Do you understand the requirements to utilize the minor servicing exemption in OSHA 1910.147?
Information regarding OSHA Minor Servicing while working in General Industry. 
​
The OSHA standard states:
1910.147(a)(2)(ii)(B)An employee is required to place any part of their body into an area on a machine or piece of equipment where work is performed upon the material being processed (point of operation) or where an associated danger zone exists during a machine operating cycle. ​

Note: Exception to paragraph (a)(2)(ii): Minor tool changes and adjustments and other minor servicing activities, which take place during normal production operations, are not covered by this standard if they are routine, repetitive, and integral to the use of the equipment for production, provided that the work is performed using alternative measures which provide effective protection (See subpart 0 of this part).
 
So, what does effective protection mean? This Exemption can be a complex topic, and many companies may need more justification for using MSE (Minor Service Exception). So, where should we start? Well, that is where many fall short on the MSE justification path. Think about your own process Who is doing work or performing tasks on your equipment. What are the tasks? What are the Hazards that are inherent with that equipment. How are tasks approved? Who approves entry or access methods? Who decides? How is that documented? Who decides what is Safe and unsafe? Now that you’re thinking about the process you have at your location.
 
Every good business model should start with the idea of doing a good job and showing your work proper documentation.
 
WHO: is going to be performing work on the machine or interact with it in the course of their job function.
TASKS: It's imperative to determine if you have tasks that need to be completed during the Normal Production operations for your machines. This means that if you have tasks, you must do them while your equipment is running, Lockout is not an option. It could be because it shuts everything down and takes a lot of time to restart the equipment, costing you substantial productivity. When Situational or Full Lock out can inhibit productivity, the MSE exemption is a method to allow for better up time and equal Safety for workers for approved tasks.
 
Let me explain further: Any task that requires you to bypass a guard, gate, or safety device or enter a danger zone during your workday needs to be investigated very closely. 

Please remember that the burden of proof to validate tasks meeting the MSE lies with the employer. Ensuring you have a system in place will stop employees from task creep where tasks are added that were not approved. From my Audit experience it happens - and happens a lot.
 
THE TASK MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING RULES.
Routine:  The activity is a regular occurrence and is expected as part of equipment operations. 
Repetitive:  The task occurs many times throughout the production cycle.
Integral to production:  This task is essential to the production process. 
It occurs during normal operations: (using the machine for its intended function is the definition of production).
 
YOU MUST UNDERSTAND!
HAZARDS: What are the Known hazards associated with the equipment? Electrical, chemical, crush, pinch points, pneumatic, cut and even more. Understanding all the hazards is critical when performing a Risk analysis.
 
Lastly, Employers must provide effective exclusive control: This requires devices such as specially designed tools, remote devices, interlocked barrier guards, local disconnects, or control switches. This last part is tricky to ensure you use effective executive control methods. 

So, what is exclusive control? Exclusive control means that the authorized employee has the authority to and is continuously in a position to prevent (exclude) other individuals from re-energizing the machine or equipment during Minor Service activity.

Can you utilize control devices to do Lockout work? NO, employees cannot. Control devices can only be used for Minor servicing tasks when they provide effective protection. However, you have to prove they provide effective protection. 

This is where control reliability comes into play—stepping back to approved tasks. Once all tasks are identified and approved, the next step is a risk assessment to determine the likely potential outcomes of an incident. Then, what structure and control category are currently applied to the equipment? What does that mean? You need to review electrical schematics and see how the controls are wired and designed. In the basic sense its “look at what you have vs what you need.” If there is a mismatch, Lockout must be used until the equipment is upgraded. If your controls are not effective to prevent an incident. (That’s the basics of Functional Safety).  See below for a simple risk matrix.

Risk Assessment explained: 
Ref: ANSI/RIA TR R15-306-2016

Using this reference Table 2: Severity of injury, exposure to the hazard & ability to avoid the hazard. You will land on a risk determination indexing from Table 5. This table will inform you of the Performance level required and a structure category. This simple confirmation is a task-based assessment. It should be used on each MSE task approved. It would help to have engineering personnel on staff to research your equipment for current controls. Subsequently the design of upgrades if a mismatch is identified. If you have a mismatch in your assessment applying actual lock out is your best (and frankly only) option. Creating a simple documentation form for task approval and validation is very important. This valuable documentation is how you know tasks were approved and meet MSE exception and secondly you understand that your control structure for the Safety of your workers. Applying a robust management of change process is vital to keeping up with your equipment changes.

In summary, Performing Tasks analysis, Risk Assessment, controls validation and documenting your process will put you on the right path to using MSE and protecting workers all while improving productivity and up time.

My recommendation in today’s fast-paced world of industry: All equipment should have a full Safety risk evaluation on file. Then it can be updated as changes occur. However, this article is about scratching the surface of understanding on when and how Minor Service Exceptions can be used and the process to determine if the task is allowed under the exception and you have the exclusive controls to prevent faults and failures that can cause harm to your employees.

For more safety recommendations, visit www.asaferway.net.
​​