Clearing Conveyor Jams Safely

• Unexpected conveyor startup while a worker is clearing material
• Stored tension or gravity releasing jammed material suddenly
• Hands or tools entering belts, rollers, chutes, or transfer points
• Material falling from elevated conveyors or backed-up chutes
• Workers attempting shortcuts because production is stopped
• Restarting while people, tools, guards, or loose material remain in the area

A conveyor jam can stop production, but the pressure to restore flow quickly must not override the controls needed to protect the workers clearing it.

The first step is to stop the conveyor and notify affected workers. Repeatedly cycling the controls, reversing the conveyor without a plan, or pulling at material while equipment is moving can make the jam release unpredictably.

Jammed material may hold stored energy from belt tension, compressed product, elevated loads, springs, counterweights, hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems, or gravity. When the restriction is removed, that energy may move equipment or material suddenly.

Hazardous energy should be controlled according to the equipment-specific procedure before workers reach into, climb onto, enter, or remove guarding from a dangerous area. A control switch or emergency stop alone should not be treated as energy isolation.

The crew should identify where the jam begins, where material is backed up, what can fall or shift, and whether more than one conveyor or feeder affects the area. Upstream and downstream equipment may also need to be isolated.

Approved tools and methods should be used from a stable position. Workers should avoid placing their bodies in line with tensioned belts, compressed material, suspended loads, or a path where released product could strike or trap them.

Before restart, guards and covers should be replaced, tools and loose material removed, workers accounted for, and the equipment area checked. A designated person should communicate the restart so no one is surprised by movement.

Repeated jams are a warning of an underlying problem. Misalignment, damaged components, poor loading, material buildup, sensor problems, or an incorrect process setting should be corrected rather than accepted as routine.

• Stop the system and notify affected workers.
• Identify stored energy, gravity, and backed-up material.
• Follow the equipment-specific hazardous-energy procedure.
• Isolate connected feeders and conveyors when necessary.
• Use approved tools from a stable, protected position.
• Replace guards and account for workers before restart.
• Investigate repeated jams instead of normalizing them.

• What energy or material could release when this jam is removed?
• Which connected equipment must also be isolated?
• Can the jam be reached without entering a danger zone?
• Who will verify the area and authorize restart?
• What condition is causing the jam to recur?