Updated guide to machinery safety standards

As before, this edition of the guide can be requested free of charge as a PDF from the Procter Machine Safety website. People who will benefit from the guide include machine designers, specifiers of machinery and machine guarding, as well as anyone modifying or upgrading guarding on existing plant and equipment. Moreover, the list of standards is far broader than machine guarding, covering all aspects of machinery safety from control systems and electrical equipment through to ergonomics and noise emissions. If you have a previous edition of the guide it is strongly recommended that you download the new version to check the current list of standards.

At the start of the guide there are new statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for fatalities and injuries. Inside, the extensive tables of A-type, B-type and C-type standards and other documents have been brought up to date. For example, the 13th edition of the guide includes the 2018 issue of BS EN 60204-1 and the new standard for machine tool safety, BS EN ISO 16090-1. In total over 100 standards and other documents are listed.

Practical advice

The updated and redesigned machine safety guide still contains important background information about current health and safety regulations, the UK's Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations and their relationship with the European Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, together with the Directive's requirements in terms of CE marking machinery and machine guards. Risk assessment and risk reduction are also covered, and there is practical advice on designing machine guards to comply with the applicable standards. Other topics discussed are materials of construction, lighting, noise reduction, fasteners, safety distances and ergonomics.

The 13th edition of On Your Guard - A Designer's Guide to Machinery Guarding Standards is written by Steve Allen CMSE, who is a Member of standards committee BSI MCE/3 (Safeguarding of machinery) and National Sales Manager at Procter Machine Safety. He has been involved with machine guarding for over 25 years and has an internationally recognised qualification as a Certified Machinery Safety Expert (TUV NORD). Steve Allen has the benefit of both a detailed knowledge of machinery safety standards and many years' experience of their practical application.

If you are responsible for specifying, designing, installing or maintaining machine guards, whatever the nature of the machine, the latest edition of this guide to machinery safety standards is essential reading. Download your free PDF of On Your Guard now.