Machine guarding is a critical component of any industrial safety program. Improperly guarded equipment remains one of the most frequent causes of serious workplace injuries — including crushing, amputations, and fatalities. At HITE Engineering, we provide expert machine guarding assessments and Pre-Start Health and Safety Reviews (PSRs) to help employers meet Ontario’s legal requirements and, most importantly, protect their people.
Our engineering team evaluates guarding and safety measures for a wide range of machinery and equipment commonly found in Ontario industrial facilities:
Whether your equipment is newly installed, modified, or part of legacy infrastructure, our team can identify gaps and recommend effective, standards-compliant solutions.
HITE Engineering conducts machine guarding assessments in strict accordance with relevant safety standards and regulatory frameworks, including:
As licensed Professional Engineers (P.Eng.), our team ensures full code compliance, documentation, and sealed reports where required.
We deliver turnkey safeguarding services for manufacturers, warehouse operators, food processors, and more. Our services include:
We inspect equipment for hazardous points of contact (e.g., pinch, shear, entanglement) and evaluate existing safeguards. Our process includes both visual review and technical measurement, using applicable guard spacing standards and hazard severity analysis.
When existing guards are insufficient or missing entirely, our engineers design practical, production-friendly guarding solutions. We prioritize minimizing impact on workflow while maximizing worker safety.
We support retrofitting of older machinery with modern guarding systems — including fixed barrier guards, interlocks, light curtains, and two-hand controls — all verified for reliability and effectiveness.
If safeguarding changes trigger a Pre-Start Health and Safety Review, we provide full PSR services. This includes on-site inspection, documentation review, and a signed engineering report with corrective actions, if needed.
Our standardized PSR inspection process ensures accuracy, consistency, and legal defensibility:
Our work spans a wide range of industries and machine types. In recent projects, HITE has:
These projects highlight our ability to adapt solutions to various operational environments, from high-speed manufacturing to food processing and packaging.
Machine guarding is a safety shield or cover that is placed on or around an engineering or manufacturing machine to prevent hazardous areas of a machine from coming in contact with the body parts of its operators or employees.
Point of operation: This is the starting point where operators perform their work on the machine, such as cutting, melting, shaping, or forming materials or stock.
The power transmission device: This part of a machine or equipment contains the mechanical system which transfers the power to the area of the machine that performs the work. These pieces include cranks, pulleys, belts, gears, connecting rods, chains, and spindles.
The operating controls: Each machine comes with a mechanical or electrical power control that makes it possible for the operator to turn on or stop the power from continuing. For this reason, the operating controls need machine guarding to protect the operator from injury.
Fixed guards: These safeguards consist of gates, fences, or blade covers and contain no moving parts. They are used to prevent machine operators from encountering hazardous situations at the operation points.
Interlocking guards: These types of safeguards are made with movable parts that can cut off the power supply or shut down when tampered with.
Adjustable guards: These guards are attached to engineering machines permanently. However, their moving parts can be manually adjusted to accommodate various operating conditions.
Self-adjusting guards: These kinds of safeguards automatically adjust to the machine operator when they start interacting with the dangerous part of the machine. For instance, the self-adjusting guards shut down when the machine is idle.
Yes, it’s crucial. A safety assessment is essential whenever you acquire a new machine or make changes to an existing one. End users bear the responsibility for machine safety and compliance, as manufacturers are not always obligated to meet all relevant safety standards. Most regulations mandate a safety assessment for compliance, irrespective of the machine’s age. Ensuring proper guarding and safety measures from the outset is vital to protect workers and uphold legal requirements.
The impact on usability varies with the safety provider. At our company, we customize safety solutions for user-friendliness. During the design phase, we address any concerns to ensure that safety measures do not hinder machine operation. After installation and validation, we offer training on proper use and maintenance to ensure seamless operation while prioritizing safety.
Effective machine safeguards must meet key criteria to ensure worker safety and operational efficiency. They should primarily prevent any contact between workers and hazardous moving parts, be constructed from durable materials, and securely fastened to prevent tampering or removal. Safeguards must also prevent objects from entering into hazardous areas and enable regular operations to be completed safely without removal. Ideally, well-designed safeguards should enhance productivity by allowing workers to operate efficiently without compromising their safety.
If you’re installing, modifying, or reviewing equipment that may trigger a PSR — or simply want to improve worker safety — HITE can help.
Let’s ensure your workplace is safe, compliant, and operationally efficient.
Contact us today to schedule an inspection or safeguarding review.