Force represents the mechanical energy that causes injury to the human body. ISO/TC 199 has been working on answering that question since 2012.
Read MoreInstructions for Use – the New ISO 20607

Instructions are one of the basic items that users expect to get when they purchase a product, and yet these important documents are often poorly written, badly translated, and incomplete. Key…
Read MoreCan Emergency Stop be used as an “on/off” control?

Every couple of months I get an email asking me if there is any reason why e‑stop functions can’t be used as the primary power control (on/off button) for machinery. Following…
Read MoreIntroduction to Functional Safety Seminars

If you are interested in functional safety, and I know many readers are based on the statistics I see for my other functional safety-related posts, I think you will be interested in this.…
Read MoreDo-It-Yourself Safety Labels, Signs and Tags

One of the great challenges that all product designers face is the sourcing of appropriate product safety labels. There are many sources for off-the-shelf labels including some of the biggest…
Read MoreEmergency Stop Pull-Cords

This article was updated 2020-06-13, adding links to the Rockwell Automation and Schmersal pull-cord data, and on 2019-04-26, adding specific details related to IEC 60947 – 5‑5 [7]. When it comes to…
Read MoreTrapped Key Interlocking

Many machine designers think of interlocks as exclusively electrical devices; a switch is attached to a movable mechanical guard, and the switch is connected to the control system. Trapped Key Interlocking is…
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