--- title: Guard Your Return Rolls description: Prevent return rolls from falling from a conveyor by installing conveyor guarding. image: https://blog.martin-eng.com/hubfs/ReturnRoll_Jerad.jpg --- [![martin-sig-logo](https://blog.martin-eng.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Martin_Engineering_December2018/Image/martin-sig-logo.png?width=310&name=martin-sig-logo.png "martin-sig-logo")](https://blog.martin-eng.com/) ## visit us at [www.martin-eng.com](http://www.martin-eng.com) / [800-544-2947](tel:+8005442947) ## [< ![](https://blog.martin-eng.com/hs-fs/hubfs/IMG_2569.jpg?width=35&name=IMG_2569.jpg) By Jerad Heitzler on Oct 30, 2019 2:19:00 PM This photo was sent to me the other day by one of the guys who attended our Foundations™ Conveyor Operations Training.  He thought it would be something useful and interesting.  I can - and will - use it for my training workshops, and I do find it interesting.  ![Return roll guard](https://blog.martin-eng.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ReturnRoll_Jerad.jpg?width=587&name=ReturnRoll_Jerad.jpg) As an instructor of Conveyor Operations & Maintenance Training, I have always taught that any return roll over a walkway or roadway needs to have a catch basket. These baskets are intended to catch the roll if it were to get damaged and fall unexpectedly. As you can see, this happens. Once, I was told a story about a guy who was sitting in a truck under a conveyor. While sitting in the truck, a return roll fell from the conveyor and crashed through his window, killing him instantly. That is the reason - a HUGE reason - why return rolls must be guarded. I don’t know if the story is true, exaggerated, or just a tall tale...the person who shared it with me was a great story teller, so I have some doubts. Regardless of whether or not that one instance is true, return rolls should be guarded.  [![Click to Learn About Guarding Return Rollers](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/5156573/a9c78bf9-800a-4a08-9b59-6f15be3b1ce3.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/5156573/a9c78bf9-800a-4a08-9b59-6f15be3b1ce3) If the return roll is in close enough proximity for a worker to access or reach (even with a tool), it is a nip point and needs to be guarded. If the roll is located over an area where workers will be present, no matter the elevation, then a catch basket should be used.  [![Check out Return Roller Guards](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/5156573/fd8c326f-66ed-40ff-8647-96a418cf0aab.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/5156573/fd8c326f-66ed-40ff-8647-96a418cf0aab) The photo that was sent to me doesn’t lie. Even if the story I was told was fabricated, there is no denying it can happen. If you’re not guarding return rolls properly, and the ones I see in the field rarely are, you can do more to protect your co-workers. 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