Drill press maintenance safety

⚠What laws and standards require

• Industrial Safety and Health Regulations (Japan), Article 111 (Prohibition of gloves)

  On drill presses, chamfering machines and similar machines, where a worker's hand could be caught by a rotating tool during work, gloves must not be used. Workers must also not use gloves once they are prohibited

  Do not wear gloves, including cotton work gloves, while a drill press is running. If a glove wraps around the drill, it pulls in the hand and arm. In an MHLW near-miss case, a worker drilling a stainless steel plate reached for something on the table with a gloved hand, and the glove nearly got caught by the rotating drill. The countermeasures are to work bare-handed, to clear unneeded items off the table first, and to do other tasks only after switching the power off. Kira puts a "No gloves while operating" label on its machines^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

• Industrial Safety and Health Regulations (Japan), Article 110 (Wearing work caps, etc.)

  Where hair or clothing could be caught by a power-driven machine, workers must wear a suitable work cap or work clothes

  Wear work clothes with tight cuffs and hems, and cover long hair with a cap. Do not wear loose clothing or accessories such as necklaces. In an MHLW accident case (No. 101340), just after changing the tool on a radial drill press, the worker's right upper arm was caught, sleeve and all, by the rotating tool and he was lifted off the floor and died^[1][6][3][4]

• Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (Japan), Articles 107 and 108 (Stopping operation when cleaning, and when cleaning the cutting part)

  Cleaning, lubricating, inspecting, repairing, and adjusting the machine, and cleaning, inspecting, repairing, replacing, and adjusting the blade part, must be done with the machine stopped, and the starting device must be locked and tagged so that no one else can start it

  Switch off and disconnect the power before changing drills or chucks, re-routing the belt, lubricating, or cleaning. Kira asks that a warning tag be hung in a conspicuous place on the distribution or control panel so that the power cannot be switched on by accident during maintenance or inspection. Makita and HOZAN ask that the power plug be pulled before mounting or removing a drill^[1][3][4][5]

• Industrial Safety and Health Regulations (Japan), Article 108, paragraphs 3 and 4 (clearing chips from the blade of a running machine)

  When clearing chips from the blade of a running machine or applying cutting agent, workers must be made to use a brush or other suitable tool

  Do not remove chips tangled around the drill with bare hands. Kira says to stop the spindle and confirm it has stopped turning, then put on safety glasses and remove chips tangled around the tool or tooling with a brush or similar, never touching them with bare hands^[1][3]

• Industrial Safety and Health Regulations (Japan), Article 101 (Prevention of hazards from prime movers, rotating shafts, etc.)

  Parts of a machine that could cause danger, such as the prime mover, rotating shafts, gears, pulleys and belts, must be fitted with covers, enclosures or the like

  Do not run the machine with the belt cover open. Open the cover only after switching off the main power. Kira shows that if a belt catches something, you should switch off the main power and then turn the belt by hand to free it. HOZAN asks that the belt cover always be refitted after changing the speed^[1][3][5]

• Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (Japan), Article 106 (Prevention of hazards from flying cutting chips, etc.)

  Where flying cutting chips are dangerous, fit the machine with a cover or enclosure; where that is difficult, have workers use protective equipment

  Wear safety glasses for drill press work, even for short jobs. In an MHLW near-miss case, a worker made a small correction cut on a bench drill press without safety glasses, and chips nearly got into the eye^{[1][7][3][4][5]}

• Manufacturer instruction manuals; MHLW near-miss cases

  Always clamp the workpiece to the table with a vise or similar. Clear unneeded items off the table before starting work

  Do not hold the workpiece by hand when drilling. The drill can spin the workpiece around or lift it. Kira says that machining without clamping can make the workpiece spin or lift and is extremely dangerous^[3][4][2]

• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Workplace Safety Site, Industrial Accident Case No. 101340 (radial drill press) (in Japanese)

  After the tool change in preparation for drilling a flange was finished, the worker's right upper arm was caught, sleeve and all, by the rotating tool. The suspected causes are that the spindle forward/reverse switch was left in the reverse position with the clutch lever in neutral, and that the tool was kept turning during setup

  During setup (clamping the workpiece, changing the tool), keep the spindle forward/reverse switch in the stop position. Provide an emergency stop near the tool. Keep your body away from the rotating tool. The case's countermeasures also include carrying out a risk assessment, drawing up a safe work procedure, and informing and retraining everyone who uses drill presses^[6](1 source, for reference)

• JIS B 6034:2020 Machine tools — Safety — Drilling machines

  A JIS that sets requirements for eliminating hazards and reducing risk on stationary manual drilling machines (upright and radial drill presses). It does not apply to automatic drilling machines or to bench drill presses mounted on a workbench

  The safety standard for choosing or modifying upright and radial drill presses. Check the standard text for the actual requirements. Established in 2020 (competent ministers: Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; draft prepared by the Japan Machine Tool Builders' Association and the Japanese Standards Association)^[8][9](1 source, for reference)

The legal provisions are summarized in Kezuriba's own words. Check the exact wording against the original text in e-Gov Law Search.