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 product features are badly described, and information on features, settings and hazards may be absent. All of this despite the fact that the minimum requirements…
Read MoreMore E‑Stop Questions
Here are some more questions I’ve been asked regarding emergency stop requirements. These ones came to me through the IEEE PSES EMC-PSTC Product Compliance Forum mailing list. Primary Sources There are three primary sources for the requirements for emergency stop devices: [1] Safety of machinery — Emergency stop — Principles for design, 3rd Edition. ISO 13850. 2015. [2] Safety of…
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. I am collaborating with the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society’s Virtual Chapter to provide a series of three 35 minute seminars discussing the fundamentals of functional safety. The…
Read More5 Things You Need to Know About ANSI
Have you ever wondered about ANSI? Needed to know how ANSI standards are developed? Find your answers and more in this post!
Read MoreFive reasons you should attend our Free Safety Talks
Reason #1 – Free Safety Talks You can’t argue with Free Stuff! Last week we partnered with Schmersal Canada and Franklin Empire to put on three days of Free Safety Talks. We had full houses in all three locations, Windsor, London and Cambridge, with nearly 60 people participating. We had two great presenters who helped…
Read MoreMachinery Safety Labels: 3 Top Tools for Effective Warnings
Machinery Safety Labels The third level of the Hierarchy of Controls is Information for Use. Safety Labels are a key part of the Information for Use provided by machine builders to users and are often the only information that many users get to see. This makes the design and placement of the safety labels critical to…
Read MoreISO 13849 – 1 Analysis — Part 8: Fault Exclusion
Post updated 2019-07-24. Ed. Fault Consideration & Fault Exclusion ISO 13849 – 1, Chapter 7 [1, 7] discusses the need for fault consideration and fault exclusion. Fault consideration is the process of examining the components and sub-systems used in the safety-related part of the control system (SRP/CS) and making a list of all the faults that could occur in each…
ISO 13849 – 1 Analysis — Part 7: Safety-Related Software
Post updated 2019-07-24. Ed. Safety-Related Software Up to this point, I have been discussing the basic processes used for the design of safety-related parts of control systems. The underlying assumption is that these techniques apply to the design of hardware used for safety purposes. The remaining question focuses on the design and development of safety-related software…
Read MoreNew CSA Standard for Machinery Electrical Equipment
Electrical Equipment of Machinery Most modern machinery is controlled electrically, or electronically. There are a number of standards that apply to the design of control systems for machinery, with IEC 60204 – 1 and it’s EN equivalent, along with IEC 61439 – 1 and IEC 61439 – 2 as the predominant standards internationally, and NFPA 79 as the predominant standard in the…
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