When should a laser cutter be taken out of service instead of troubleshot by users?

Question

Accepted Answer

Take the machine out of service whenever a safety feature is not working or you have any doubt about a safeguard, and report it instead of troubleshooting…

Take the machine out of service whenever a safety feature is not working or you have any doubt about a safeguard, and report it instead of troubleshooting it yourself. Out of service is something you do: power it down, secure it so nobody can start it from the room or the lab computer, label it OUT OF SERVICE, and report it the same day to whoever your procedure names as authorizing its return to service. Triggers that take a machine out of service, and the four things out of service means On the left, four trigger rows. Do not operate: interlock defeated or malfunctioning, door removed, view port damaged. Never operate: no working exhaust or filtration. Does not run: smoke or fumes smelled in the room, until someone resolves it. Report at once: any malfunction or damage, plus the fault triggers your manual lists. On the right, four numbered actions that make up out of service: power it down; secure it so nobody can start it from the room or the lab computer; label it OUT OF SERVICE; report it the same day to whoever your procedure names. A bottom banner says it returns to service only when that person has inspected it and released it in writing. Any one of these Then you do four things Do not operate Never operate Does not run Report at once interlock defeated or malfunctioning, door removed, view port damaged no working exhaust or filtration smoke or fumes smelled in the room, until someone resolves it any malfunction or damage, plus the fault triggers your manual lists 1 Power it down report, don't troubleshoot 2 Secure it no start from the room or the lab computer 3 Label it OUT OF SERVICE 4 Report the same day to whoever your procedure names to release it Back in service only when the person your procedure names has inspected it and released it in writing. Only authorized service works on it. Out of service is something you do, not a feeling about the machine. A safeguard you doubt counts the same as one that has failed. Nothing here releases a machine; your named person does that. This page assumes an enclosed machine at Class 1 or Class 2 in the configuration you run. Open-frame, open-bed, pass-through or converted machines, machines at Class 3B or 4 in normal use, and machines of unknown class are not covered. MIT says enclosure-less hobby-type units do not meet its EHS requirements and may endanger users and bystanders. Those machines need a laser safety officer and a written program first; if your school cannot designate one, the answer is not yet. The triggers: a defeated or malfunctioning interlock, a removed door, or a damaged view port means do not operate. A missing or failed exhaust or filtration system means never operate. If you can smell smoke or fumes in the room, the machine does not run again until someone resolves it. Any malfunction or damage goes to a supervisor right away. Your manual lists further fault-specific triggers, such as cooling or electrical faults; follow it. Never tape, hold, rewire or otherwise defeat an interlock, and never open a lid or door on a running or armed machine to test it. Only authorized service works on the machine. It returns to service only when the person named in your procedure has inspected it and released it in writing. Nothing on this page releases a machine.

Sources