Introduction

The structure of safety standards in the field of machinery is as follows:

a) type-A standards (basic safety standards) giving basic concepts, principles for design, and general aspects that can be applied to all machinery;
b) type-B standards (generic safety standards) dealing with one safety aspect or one or more type(s) of safeguard that can be used across a wide range of machinery:
- — type-B1 standards on particular safety aspects (e.g. safety distances, surface temperature, noise);
- — type-B2 standards on safeguards (e.g. two-hand controls, interlocking devices, pressure sensitive devices, guards).
c) type-C standards (machine safety standards) dealing with detailed safety requirements for a particular machine or group of machines.

This document is a type-B1 standard as stated in ISO 12100:2010.

This document is of relevance, in particular, for the following stakeholder groups representing the market players with regard to machinery safety:

— machine manufacturers (small, medium and large enterprises);
— health and safety bodies (regulators, accident prevention organisations, market surveillance etc.);

Others can be affected by the level of machinery safety achieved with the means of the document by the above-mentioned stakeholder groups:

— machine users/employers (small, medium and large enterprises);
— machine users/employees (e.g. trade unions, organizations for people with special needs);
— service providers, e. g. for maintenance (small, medium and large enterprises);
— consumers (in case of machinery intended for use by consumers).

The above-mentioned stakeholder groups have been given the possibility to participate at the drafting process of this document.

In addition, this document is intended for standardization bodies elaborating type-C standards.

The requirements of this document can be supplemented or modified by a type-C standard.

For machines which are covered by the scope of a type-C standard and which have been designed and built according to the requirements of that standard, the requirements of that type-C standard take precedence.

One method of eliminating or reducing risks caused by machinery is to make use of safety distances preventing hazard zones from being reached by the upper and lower limbs.

In specifying safety distances, a number of aspects need to be taken into consideration, such as:

— reach situations occurring when machinery is being used;
— reliable surveys of anthropometric data, taking into account population groups likely to be found in the countries concerned;
— biomechanical factors, such as compression and stretching of parts of the body and limits of joint rotation;
— technical and practical aspects; and
— additional measures for particular groups of persons (e.g. persons with special needs), which can be required due to a deviation from the specified body dimensions.

BS EN ISO 13857:2019

Safety of machinery. Safety distances to prevent hazard zones being reached by upper and lower limbs

Current

Published:

30 Nov 2019