Calculating the stopping distance of a rubber mill

March 21, 1975

Mr. I. Cohn
Reliable Rubber & Plastic
Machinery Co., Inc.
[Recipient address omitted]

Dear Mr. Cohn:

This is in response to your letter requesting an interpretation of the stopping limits of Mills as calculated in 1910.216(f)(2) of the Federal Register, Vol. 39, No. 125 dated June 27, 1974.

Using 100 feet per minute, as you suggested, we would calculate stopping distances as follows:

100 FPM X 1.5% = 1.5 = 18 inches stopping distance

The stopping distance is obtained by multiplying the running speed in feet by the 1.5% constant permitted for stopping. This results in a figure showing feet which must be multiplied by 12 to obtain inches for permissible stopping distance.

Please feel free to contact us if there are further questions about OSHA.

Very truly yours,

John J. Kearney
Associate Assistant Regional Director
for Technical Support/OSH