This is a first On Thursday, 2023-04-27, ISO published ISO 13849-1:2023, the 4th edition of the dominant functional safety standard for machinery. Usually, I would be the first to tell you that you should buy the standard as quickly as possible and start using it immediately. Today is not a normal day. As Command Module…
Read MoreUnderstanding safety functions: Safe speed and safe standstill
In this post, I’ll discuss two safety-related parameters: safe speed and safe standstill. Speed control is a very common machine function. Conveyors, mixers, pumps, and many other applications rely on variable-speed drives. Some speed parameters are also safety-related because variations in speed can increase the risk to workers. See this post for more information on…
Read MoreThe Westray Mine Disaster
Today is the 30th anniversary of the Westray Mine disaster in 1992. At 5:18 am on Saturday, May 9, 1992, a great, blue flame flashed out of the mine opening, a cloud of black smoke on its tail [1]. Twenty-six miners lost their lives when a methane and coal dust explosion destroyed the mine. Eleven…
Read MoreCanada’s National Day of Mourning
Fight for the Living, Mourn for the Dead On April 28th, Canada’s National Day of Mourning, we mourn for our workplace dead. According to the WSIB, in 2020, 245 people died from a work-related injury or illness in Ontario [1]. Workplace deaths have broad and deep effects on workers’ families, employers, and society. Workplace fatalities…
Read MoreCSA Z432 Public Review Open!
CSA Z432 Public Review is open. If you are a user, a builder of machinery, or an evaluator of machinery, this is your opportunity to see the draft of this important standard and to make comments to help the Technical Committee improve the standard on your behalf. Note: The start of the public review period…
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