Machine Safeguarding Services

Annual Safeguarding Audit

Annual Safeguarding Audits are crucial for ensuring that machinery is properly safeguarded, helping to reduce the risk of operator injuries and prevent costly accidents that can lead to expensive repairs, regulatory fines, increased insurance premiums, and financial strain on the company.

Ensuring Ongoing Safety with an Annual SAFEguarding Audit
Why it Matters?

Even the best machine safeguarding systems degrade over time. Guards wear out. Interlocks get bypassed. And as companies evolve, machine use often shifts from its original intent—introducing new hazards that were never assessed or accounted for.

The Annual Safeguarding Audit (ASA) is a proactive validation program designed to keep safeguards aligned with real-world operations and evolving risks. Each year, Rockford Systems provides a comprehensive on-site safeguarding reassessment, backed by expert analysis and benchmarking.

As risks change, so must your safeguards. The ASA keeps your machines safe and compliant while reducing the demands on your team.

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“ Workers who operate and maintain machinery suffer approximately 18,000 amputations, lacerations, crushing injuries, abrasions, and more than 800 deaths per year.”*
* https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/machineguarding/index.html

Is an Annual Safeguarding Audit Right for You?

If you answered “yes” to one or more of these questions, it’s time to schedule an Annual Safety Audit to ensure ongoing safety and compliance.

Do you know if the machine safeguarding systems in your facility are still in compliance with OSHA regulation, or ANSI and NFPA 79 standards? 

Consensus standards are continually reviewed, revised, rewritten, or re-affirmed to address emerging technologies. Keep in mind that ANSI and NFPA 79 standards are revised more regularly than OSHA’s regulations.  

An annual audit by Rockford Systems provides on-going compliance with regulations /standards and risk reduction goals.

Like any industrial equipment, safeguarding devices can degrade and eventually fail over time if not properly maintained. Also, machine operators have been known to tamper with guards if they feel the guards are slowing production. 

To ensure the integrity of machine safeguards, a proactive and preventative maintenance program needs to be established based upon the manufacturer’s recommendations, and good engineering practices. Visual inspections, function testing, and auditing help to identify equipment in need of maintenance.

Any number of changes can occur to a safeguarding system that may heighten the potential for injuries. Employees may never have been given proper training, a part may have been removed during maintenance and never replaced, or the entire system may have been installed or removed and re-installed incorrectly. 

Any of these issues can lead to safeguarding equipment becoming less effective, and all can be identified during an Annual Validation Audit.

Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) do not necessarily address all hazards on the new machines you put on your plant floor.  Regardless of what an OEM provides to you, it’s important to remember that it is the owner’s responsibility to perform a risk or machine safeguarding assessment on newly installed machines to determine all hazards and remediation measures.

What about alterations? Have you made changes to an existing piece of machinery, or your production processes? If so, machine incorrectly applied modifications could create an additional risk.

Also, if you’ve installed a pre-owned or used equipment, be aware that this older equipment is not exempt from current regulations and standards, and needs to be properly safeguarded before brought into use.

An Annual Verification Audit will identify these issues before they lead to an accident, or become an OSHA violation.

Benefits of the Annual Safeguarding Audit (ASA):

Annual On-Site Audit
A safety specialist conducts a full revalidation of installed safeguards.

Identifying Gaps in Safety
Each audit documents compliance levels, equipment condition and safety gaps.

Business Value
Corrects issues and demonstrates a commitment to safety to regulatory agencies.

ANSI Compliance
Satisfies ANSI requirements for periodic testing and system maintenance.

Pre-Audit Prep Meeting (3 Months Prior)
The Pre-Audit prep meeting has two main purposes.  Validate scope of work, or confirm all machines from safeguarding project are still on-site.  Schedule the audit.  Rockford Systems provides the best available dates and the customer confirms they can support the audit.

Sustained Risk Reduction
Detects wear, bypassed safeguards, and operational changes before they cause accidents or compliance issues.

Flexible Contracts
Offered in 1-, 3-, or 5-year packages.

Schedule Your Annual Safety Audit Today

Our expert team will perform a comprehensive audit, including visual inspections, document reviews, function testing, and compliance checks to identify any gaps in your machine safeguarding systems. After the audit, you’ll receive a detailed report with recommendations for corrective actions to ensure your equipment remains compliant and safe. Protect your safeguarding investment today

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Building a Safer Workplace with a Machine Guarding Program

A machine guarding program is essential for workplace safety, ensuring compliance with OSHA regulations and protecting employees from machinery-related hazards. Due to the complexity of modern equipment and compliance requirements, a structured program helps standardize safety measures, provide employee training, and maintain long-term safeguarding through annual audits. Key elements include compliance evaluations, written policies, implementation strategies, and ongoing training to create a safer, more consistent, and sustainable work environment.

Comprehensive Safety Solutions

Rockford Systems offers a full range of services to help businesses maintain compliance and create safer workplaces. Those include:

Training and Education

Safeguarding Policy Development

Machine Safeguarding Assessment

Remote Safeguarding Assessment

Emergency Response Assessment

Custom Design and Engineering Solutions Integration and Installation

Annual Safeguarding Audit

Technical and In-Field Support

Annual Stop-Time Measurement

Press Safety Inspection