Requirements as to risk assessments

The EU Machinery directives define goal-oriented safety requirements to machinery (European Council, 1989/98). Machinery manufacturers have to carry out risk assessments to document that they meet these requirements. Documentation on risk assessments has to be available before the manufacturer can issue a Declaration of Conformity and mark the machinery with the CE sign. The harmonised standards EN 292 and EN 1050 describe the basic requirements for the risk assessments (CEN, 1991 CEN, 1996), 

The legislation accounts for the fact that machines interact and form production systems of varying complexity. Machinery is in the regulations defined as an assembly of linked parts or components, at least one of which moves, with the appropriate actuators, control and power circuits joined together for a specific application. The legislation also applies to assemblies of machines. These consist of machines arranged and controlled so that they can function as an integral whole for a specific application. A sub-assembly is a mechanised assembly that cannot function independently, and that is intended for incorporation into a machine. 

In Section 7.5 we went through the basic barrier philosophy applied in the European machinery-safety legislation. We will here repeat the stepwise procedure to be followed by the manufacturer to ensure a machine is safe for use  

EN 292 defines the duties of the designer in identifying the necessary safety measures. A stepwise procedure must be followed, including  

1 Determination of the intended uses of the machinery, lifespan, space requirements etc.  

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