EXEMPTION:	1. You do not need to safeguard the following types of belts when they are operating at two hundred and fifty linear feet per minute or less:
	a. Flat belts that are:
	i. One inch wide or less.
	ii. Two inches wide or less and have no metal lacings or fasteners.
	b. Round belts one-half inch or less in diameter.
	c. Single-strand v-belts 13/32 inch wide or less.
	2. You do not need to safeguard belts that are in a room, vault, or similar space that contains only power transmission parts or equipment if the space:
	a. Is controlled by lock and key or has similarly restricted access that allows only authorized persons to enter.
	b. Is well lit.
	c. Has a dry, level, and firm floor.
	d. Has a well-marked route with a vertical clearance of at least five feet six inches for authorized employees to follow to perform their duties.
	3. You do not need to safeguard belt drives of light or medium duty sewing machines if all of the following apply:
	a. It uses either a flat or a round belt without metal lacings and fasteners.
	b. The belt is located above the table top.
	c. The table top is designed so that employees near the machine are not exposed to motion hazards while they work or as they pass by.
	d. The machine is not used to sew heavy materials such as leather, canvas, denim, or vinyl.
	e. The operators' hands are not in, near, or on the wheel, nip point, belt area, or other motion hazard when the machine is operating.

Reference:

You may need to follow additional requirements for sewing machines. See, Sewing machines, WAC 296-806-485, later in this chapter for more information.

(1) You must safeguard belt or rope drives that are seven feet or less above the floor or working surface.

Reference:	In the absence of a specific safeguarding method, follow the safeguarding requirements found in safeguarding methods, WAC 296-806-20042 through 296-806-20058. Examples of safeguarding methods include:
	1. Guards.
	2. Devices.
	3. Safeguarding by distance.
	4. Safeguarding by location.

Note:	You may use a nip point and pulley guard on a vertical or inclined belt if it meets all of the following requirements:
	1. Two and one-half inches wide or less.
	2. Running at a speed of less than one thousand feet per minute.
	3. Free from metal lacings or fastenings.

(2) You must safeguard overhead belts located more than seven feet above the floor or working surface if any of the following apply:

(a) The belt is located over a passageway or work space and travels at a speed of eighteen hundred feet per minute or more.

(b) The distance between the centers of its pulleys is ten feet or more.

(3) You must safeguard the space between the upper and lower runs of a horizontal belt if there is enough room for an employee to pass between them by providing both:

(a) A guard along the upper run to keep the belt from contacting the worker or anything they may be carrying; and

(b) A platform over the lower run that has a railing that is completely filled in with wire mesh or other filler or by a solid barrier.

Note:

The passage between the two belts is considered safeguarded if you completely block it with a guardrail or other barrier.

EXEMPTION:

In a power generating room, only the lower run of a horizontal belt has to be safeguarded.

PDFWAC 296-806-30004

Safeguard belt and rope drives.