Glossary · Risk assessment and risk reduction
Safeguarding
In machine safety, safeguarding is the application of guards, protective devices and related measures to protect people from hazards that cannot reasonably be eliminated, or risks that cannot be sufficiently reduced, by inherently safe design measures. It is the second step of the three-step method.
- Machine safety
- Risk assessment
- USA
In one sentence
Safeguarding applies guards and protective devices to hazards that design alone cannot remove, and is required by EU and US machine safety rules.
Example
A robot cell is safeguarded with a perimeter fence, an interlocked access door with guard locking and a safety laser scanner at the loading station.
How it applies
- Machine safety: Choose safeguards based on how often and why people need access: fixed guards where access is rare, interlocking movable guards where it is frequent, and protective devices where material flows in and out.
- USA: OSHA's machine guarding rule, 29 CFR 1910.212, requires guarding to protect operators and other employees from hazards such as the point of operation, in-running nip points and rotating parts. See also the general duty to safeguard.
- Technical documentation: Document safeguarding in the risk assessment, the safety chapter and the maintenance manual, including safe procedures for tasks that require removing safeguards.
- Evidence: Safeguarding that relies on a control system must be verified as a safety function, including stopping times and positioning distances.
Safeguarding vs. inherently safe design
Inherently safe design measures come first and remove or reduce the hazard itself. Safeguarding leaves the hazard in place and controls access to it.