The new ISO 14121-1:2007 standard covering risk assessment for machinery will help designers and manufacturers reduce associated safety hazards.

The financial cost of a single accident to the individual and society can be very high, not to mention the pain and inconvenience. Accidents can occur wherever machinery is used.

As a result, individuals can suffer irreversible injury or even death. Society might have to nurse and support the affected person and his or her family. If the accident occurs at the workplace, the employer might need to replace a costly machine and cover medical expenses, resulting in significant monetary losses.

Manufacturers can use the new ISO 14121-1:2007 standard, Safety of machinery – Risk assessment - Part 1: Principles, to identify risks during the design stage, thereby helping to prevent future accidents. The risk assessment guidelines provided in the standard are presented as a series of logical steps.

These will help designers to work systematically and determine the limits of the machinery, identify risks of hazards such as radiation, burning or electrocution, and estimate potential dangers ranging from machine failures to human error.

The information obtained through this process will enable designers to determine whether a machine is adequately safe or not. In the eventual case that the machine is not found to be adequately safe, this information will be valuable for the subsequent risk reduction stage. The process would then be repeated until the machine is established as adequately safe for use.

This new standard could save millions of Euros in compensation and lost production. Moreover, there are numerous national safety laws that oblige manufacturers to comply with a variety of diverging requirements.

The widespread adoption of this international standard based on consensus could therefore facilitate international trade, while improving occupational health and safety.o

For more information, visit www.iso.org