Posted to News on 19th Sep 2007, 11:38
Free kit of machinery safety guides and software tools
Procter Machine Guarding is offering a free kit comprising the latest editions of the company's hugely popular machinery safety guides and software utilities. Three of these are designed to help designers, builders and users of machinery comply with current Regulations and standards, while the fourth is for managers who want to prepare themselves for all eventualities.
Guide to machinery guarding standards
The latest (fourth) edition of the 'On Your Guard' guide to machinery guarding standards gives health and safety managers, guarding specifiers, machine designers and health and safety representatives the basics, as well as showing them where they can find out more about specific topics. This guide highlights the full range of regulations and standards that are applicable, as well as indicating what the current versions are so that users do not inadvertently work with out-of-date standards. Contact details are provided for sources of further information - such as the HSE, BSI and DTI - and this fourth edition of 'On Your Guard' includes a section for Useful Resources.
Risk assessment calculator
The second item in the kit is a Risk Assessment Calculator that is based on the requirements of BS EN 1050, the standard for machinery risk assessments. Easy to use, it incorporates checklists and look-up tables to enable risk assessments to be carried out on almost any static machinery. A Hazard Rating Number (HRN) and Risk Level are calculated automatically for each identified hazard, thereby highlighting where users should consider taking action.
Procter's Risk Assessment Calculator is based on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, but very little knowledge of Excel is required in order to use it. All of the calculations are handled automatically, leaving the user to enter the data and choose values for 'Likelihood of Occurrence', 'Frequency of Exposure', 'Degree of Possible Harm' and the 'Number of Persons at Risk'.
Safety distance calculator
Another Excel-based utility is the Safety Distance Calculator for establishing the required safety distances and heights of machine guards in accordance with BS EN 294 (Safety of machinery - Safety distances to prevent danger zones being reached by the upper limbs). Very simple to use, the Safety Distance Calculator just requires selections to be made via intuitive drop-down menus. Easier to work with than BS EN 294, the Calculator also eliminates the standard's ambiguities.
Machine accident investigations
Unless you have very high health and safety standards - or more than your fair share of luck - occasional machinery-related accidents are inevitable. A new version of the Machine Accident Investigation Kit (MAIK) has been published to help small and medium-sized manufacturing companies perform investigations so that they meet their statutory obligations and prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future.
Version 2 has been completely redesigned and updated, yet it retains the previous format of introductory notes, useful resources and forms that can be filled in by hand.
Readers can request the complete Safety Kit free of charge from Procter Machine Guarding by e-mailing [email protected]. Delivery is by email only. Alternatively you can download the individual guides and tools from the Free Downloads section of the company's website.
