Modular Guarding System: How 1Guard Speeds Up Machine Safety Installs.
3 minute read
Published 20 August 2026
1Guard is SlotPro’s modular guarding system, built to protect people from hazardous machinery without the wait and cost of a custom fabrication job.
The system uses SlotPro’s aluminium T-slot extrusion and components, the same building blocks behind the wider SlotPro range. That means every panel and frame is fully customisable to a site’s layout, machinery, and safety requirements, rather than a one-size-fits-all guard.
For engineers and health and safety managers, that flexibility matters. Machinery hazards vary from site to site, and a guard that doesn’t fit properly is a guard that gets worked around. 1Guard is designed to be shaped to the hazard, not the other way round.
Why a modular guarding system beats welded steel
Traditional machine guarding usually means measuring up, cutting steel, and welding it into place on site. That’s slow, it needs a trade on hand, and any change to the layout means starting again.
1Guard removes that step. Like the rest of the SlotPro range, it assembles with a single 5mm hex key. No welder, no fabrication shop, no lead time waiting on a trade.
Panels and frames arrive precision machined to spec, so installation is a matter of bolting sections together rather than measuring, cutting, and fixing steel on site. For teams under pressure to close out a hazard gap, that difference can mean days instead of weeks.
Guard a single machine or an entire line
1Guard is suited for a wide range of safety applications across New Zealand workplaces, from processing lines to workshop machinery. As it is modular, it can guard a single pinch point or wrap an entire production cell, using the same components.
The SlotPro team can design a system to a site’s specifications and supply it as a ready to assemble kit set. From there, installation only needs standard hex keys, so internal maintenance staff can install it without bringing in outside contractors.
That’s a meaningful shift for smaller sites in particular, where budget for a dedicated fabrication project isn’t always there. A modular guarding system that a maintenance team can install themselves, changes what’s realistically achievable on a limited budget and timeline.
Where it fits: engineers, designers, and H&S managers
Engineers and designers get a system that adapts to CAD layouts and existing equipment footprints, rather than forcing a redesign around a fixed guard shape. Health and safety managers get a faster path to closing out identified hazards, since procurement and installation both move quicker than a custom build.
Machinery remains one of the more serious causes of injury in New Zealand workplaces, and guarding is a core control once a hazard can’t be eliminated at the design stage. WorkSafe’s guidance on the safe use of machinery sets out how businesses are expected to assess and control these risks, and a modular guarding system like 1Guard gives teams a practical way to act on that guidance without a long lead time.
Getting started with 1Guard
SlotPro’s team works with customers to design a 1Guard layout around their specific machinery and site conditions. Once the design is confirmed, it’s supplied as a kit set ready for assembly, no welding or fabrication required.
For more on the range, visit the 1Guard modular guarding product page.