Equipment failure in manufacturing facilities and machine shops isn’t just costly, leading to workpiece damage and shutdowns. It can also be dangerous.

Researchers in 2015 studied 773 accidents reported by a pulp and paper mill and discovered that more than a third were caused by equipment failure. Of those 272 equipment failures, 13 involved worker injuries that required first aid or other medical treatment or resulted in days away from work.

John Spik, a machine safety specialist and technical coordinator at Ferndale Safety, has spent the last 16 years involved in many aspects of machine safety, including electrical repairs, guard installations and safety audits. We spoke with Spik about common causes of equipment failure and strategies that employers can implement to keep workers safe.

Properly Use Machine Guards

When Spik gets called into manufacturing facilities, it’s usually after a sudden catastrophic equipment failure has occurred.

“What I see most often is stuff being ejected from machinery,” he says. “This can happen because a drive belt snaps, a chain under tension breaks or something flies out of a machining center.”

In cases such as these, “machine guards are your first line of defense,” the Occupational Safety and Health Administration notes on its website. “Each machine must have adequate safeguards to protect operators and other employees in the immediate work area from hazards created by ingoing nip points, rotating parts, sparks and flying debris.”

Read more: Avoiding Unplanned Downtime: 3 Ways Technology Can Help

Spik agrees on the importance of machine guards, saying that the physical types are the best control for potential harm from unexpected equipment breakdowns.

“In places where physical ejections could be a problem, install a thick piece of polycarbonate, and on the back of it, a steel mesh grid. So, the projectile will hit the polycarbonate, and if the polycarbonate can’t hold it, the metal backing will,” he says.

“In places that nobody should access, put up physical guards that are bolted to the machine,” he adds. “In places where regular access is required, put up interlocked guards.”

Perform Preventive Maintenance, Monitor Equipment

The concept of preventive maintenance is simple: Schedule regular checkups, tuneups and repairs of machines to keep them operational and avoid unexpected breakdowns.

Spik says that preventive maintenance is a common way to prevent sudden equipment failures. Skipping maintenance, on the other hand, can have consequences. “Turning a blind eye to the little problems ends up hurting somebody in the end,” he says.

Besides maintenance technicians, operators are in the best position to check equipment. “They are the first in line,” Spik says. “They are the people who have the eyeballs on the equipment at all times.”

Read more: Most Dangerous Job in Manufacturing? Maintenance

Equipment can be inspected each morning, at shift changes or as work is being done. The process shouldn’t take long, but it’s essential. Spik likens it to a truck driver or an airline pilot walking around the vehicle before starting a trip.

“They might have a checklist: Are all guards in place? If you open the guard, does the machine turn off? Is there an interlock?” he says. “They might see a bolt that’s missing or that came loose.”

Assess Risks, Attend to Issues

When potential issues with equipment are identified, do they need to be addressed right away? It depends. The key is documenting the issue and performing a risk assessment.

“What is the risk level of the trouble? Can we wait to fix it, or should we shut down everything and fix it right away? Many times, if they wait to fix it, the longer they wait, the worse it’s going to get,” Spik says.

“It’s the same thing in your house. If you have a small leak in your roof, you fix it right away. You don’t wait until your house is rotted away and infested with mold,” he says. “But if you have a squeaky hinge, you could get away with waiting to oil it.”

The stakes are often higher in the workplace, where employee safety is concerned. “That shield that was cracked and visibly damaged? Replace it,” he says. “It could save a trip to the hospital. It could save a life.”

Read more: The 4 Most Common Industrial Injuries and How to Avoid Them

Create a Reliability Culture

When the workplace culture discourages best practices around equipment reliability, it’s a recipe for disaster.

“If the machine operators don’t want to tell anybody about a problem because the person they’re supposed to tell scolds them or makes it seem like they are wasting their time, that’s a huge problem,” Spik says.

“I’ve seen workers try to fix their own machines using wire and scrap that they found lying around because management wouldn’t give them the time of day,” he adds. “That’s the kind of stuff that we have to get away from.”

During his auditing days, Spik would tell employers, “Get your employees to feel comfortable reporting failures.”

Here’s what that might look like: “Set up an easy way to report issues,” he says. “Put a reward in place: At the end of the month, draw a name at random for a prize for the people who reported issues. Give public praise to those who are team players.”

Employers can model a culture of reliability by setting expectations around equipment safety.

“Have daily morning meetings with your workers,” Spik says. “Remind them every day to use PPE. Put up signs in high-risk areas. Ensure that there are consequences for not wearing personal protective equipment. And make sure there are consequences for bypassing interlocks and guards.”