New and updated machine safety standards

2006 was a busy year in the world of machinery safety standards, with several new and updated standards being published.

First of all, BS EN 62061 (Safety of machinery. Functional safety of safety-related electrical, electronic and programmable electronic control systems) is now harmonised to the Machinery Directive. While IEC 62061 has been available since early 2005, the fact that the textually identical EN 62061 has been harmonised to the Machinery Directive means that the standard is now considered to be 'best practice'. So although compliance with the standard is not a legal requirement, it could be extremely difficult for a machine builder to demonstrate compliance with the Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs) of the Machinery Directive if the standard has not been followed.

BS EN 60204:2006 (Safety of machinery. Electrical equipment of machines. General requirements) is a revised version of the standard that was last published in 1998, and there are a number of differences to note. Most importantly, programmable electronic safety-related systems are now accepted by the standard, which effectively brings the standard up-to-date with the technological state of the art. Another notable change is clause 5.4, which relates to devices for switching off and for the prevention of unexpected start-up: control isolation is now permitted in specific circumstances - such as for inspections or adjustments. Numerous lesser changes have also been made to the main body of the standard and the annexes, so anyone that claims to be working to the standard should make sure they have purchased and studied the latest version.

Following several years of uncertainty, it was confirmed in 2006 that EN 13849-1 will replace EN 954-1. At the time of writing, the new standard has not yet been published, nor has it been harmonised to the Machinery Directive. However, there will be a three-year transition period during which the old standard can still be used. This will come as a relief to many people, as it is widely thought that compliance with the new standard will require more effort than compliance with EN 954-1. [See this more recent announcement confirming the extended transition period for EN 954-1 - Ed]

Also newly published last year was BS EN 614-1:2006 (Safety of machinery. Ergonomic design principles. Terminology and general principles), which supersedes the 1995 version. The new standard applies to the interactions between operators and machinery when installing, operating, adjusting, maintaining, cleaning, dismantling, repairing or transporting machinery. It outlines the principles of good design to be followed in taking the health, safety and wellbeing of the operator into account.

While not strictly a standard, PD 5304:2005 (Guidance on safe use of machinery) is worth mentioning. This Published Document from BSI covers the safe use of machinery and provides comprehensive guidance on practical measures and techniques that may be applied so as to safeguard operators, maintenance personnel and others. A comprehensive review of PD 5304:2005 has been provided by Procter Machine Guarding.

To help designers, suppliers and users of machinery, Procter Machine Guarding recently published a third edition of its hugely popular Guide to Machinery Guarding Standards. This can be downloaded free of charge.