The standards and directives on machine safety provide an important foundation for the selection of safety switchgear. We work closely with the standardisation authorities and are happy to support them in the design of protective equipment in accordance with the relevant national and international standards. For this purpose we have initiated a network of competent engineering offices who advise manufacturers and users of machinery and plant also in special questions of machine safety.
The "category principle" for Safety-Related Parts of Control Systems (SRP/CS) of machinery belongs in the past: The familiar control unit categories of EN 954-1:1996 have been replaced by performance levels of EN ISO 13849-1:2005 and must be applied by the end of 2009. What now changes for the designers and safety engineers? more
The EN 954-1 standard and its classification into control categories are common stuff to machinery and plant builders when they need to assess the risks and select the appropriate safety-related parts of control systems. In the future, a new approach however will have to be used to determine the safety of machine controls: the DIN EN ISO 13849-1 is coming into force. The basic approach however has not changed. more
2006/42/EC was finally adopted on 25th April 2006, and was published in the Official Journal of the EU (L157) in June. more
Arrangement of the EN standards The requirements of the Machinery Directive are substantiated by means of the EN standards, which are divided into three hierarchically arranged type classifications..... more
How safe must machines be? To the basic thoughts which follow through the whole standards work is the procedure for the design of a safe machine layed down in Appendix 1 of the Machinery Directive and detailed in EN 292. more
It is the intention of European safety strategy for machinery and plant that, in the final analysis a reasonable - that means adequate - safety is ensured for the operation and the enviroment. more
In addition to conformity with standards, product quality plays an important part in the selection and application of safety switching systems. more