How safe are your machine designs?

Many customers of machinery only want to do the bare minimum to comply with safety standards and regulations bodies so as not to be prosecuted by the HSE (Health & Safety Executive). Problem is, these users are in danger of ignoring the safety of their employees in favour of spending as little money as possible to avoid the threat of fines and prison sentences. According to Robert Sharrock, Siemens Automation & Drives, "A better approach is to take a risk assessment, see where the unacceptable risks are, then take appropriate action to reduce the risks to an acceptable level." He says that machine builders should be working in a similar manner. "Machine designers should be taking a holistic approach to machinery safety. This includes everything from the design of the machinery to the education and training of everybody that is responsible for any aspect of it, regular safety audits and a corporate culture of safety-first." Ensuring that machines are safe to set up and operate, install and commission, maintain and repair, and safe to decommission are all key design responsibilities in today's market. As Sharrock explains, "Around 50% of fatal accidents involving industrial equipment are associated with maintenance activities, and design is a contributory factor in some 32% of these fatalities." Shocking statistics indeed. There is much machine designers can do to safeguard equipment. For example, hold-to-run controls can be installed on machinery that allows it to be run at a reduced speed, or removable toolholders can be used so that sharp blades can be replaced on a workbench instead of in an accessible position inside a machine. Sharrock agrees: "Designing safety into a new machine is relatively easy, but the vast majority of machines do not remain unaltered, with unchanged operating procedures, for their entire lifetime. Modifications are inevitable and working practices can evolve unchecked or be deliberately revised by managers in an attempt to improve throughput… Research has shown that a significant number of industrial accidents result from uncontrolled changes." Education and training are just as important though. As Sharrock explains: "In today's economic climate, the pressure is on to increase throughput. But an industrial accident has multiple impacts throughout a company, the costs of which could far outweigh the value of any slight increase in throughput achieved by cutting corners on safety." He cites an example often used by the HSE in its "Making paper safely," initiative. The paper manufacturing industry actually succeeded in cutting the number of fatalities and serious injuries by 27% over a three-year period, which equates to 174 people being saved from death or injury. However, the unexpected outcome was that many of the participating mills also reported a significant improvement in quality and throughput. As Sharrock says, "It seems that the traditional working practices inadvertently led to unwarranted interference with the processes; now that there is less opportunity for manual intervention, the processes run more smoothly and consistently, leading directly to a financial benefit to the mill owners." The Health & Safety at Work Act and the Machinery Directive: what are you responsible for? For a machine designed, manufactured and sold within the EU, the manufacturer is responsible for the safety aspects of the design, with one person within the company being ultimately responsible. Responsibility for that machine design lasts for 10 years after the last model of that design has been put on the market. If the machine is assembled or installed by somebody other than the manufacturer, the assembler or installer must ensure that the machine still fulfils the essential health and safety requirements afterwards. If the machine is subsequently modified (such that it would need to be CE marked afresh) whoever is responsible for the modification becomes responsible for the machine. The employer is responsible for the machine's use and the employees are responsible for ensuring