For a startup or existing manufacturer, an experienced engineer, brought in early, often makes a product safer and cheaper to build. Professional engineer Loren Sackett explains how hazard analysis, safety factors, and material selection lock in product liability and unit cost early, and why a defined scope engineering consultant usually pays for itself.
Discover why engineers view materials as springs under load—from Capri Sun straws to stadium roofs. Explore tension, compression, yielding, and buckling with real-world failure analysis and an interactive truss simulator.
Learn the difference between a hazard and a risk, and how engineers evaluate exposure, likelihood, severity, foreseeable use, and safeguards when conducting product safety assessments, machinery design reviews, and forensic engineering investigations.
Machine guarding helps protect workers from rotating parts, pinch points, cutting tools, crush zones, and other mechanical hazards. This guide explains common machine guard types and the engineering considerations that help make safeguarding effective, practical, and compliant.
Machine guarding should protect workers while allowing safe maintenance. Learn how guard design, lockout/tagout, and JSAs can reduce unsafe workarounds.