Overview of generic standards (A+B standards)

The basis for plant and machinery safety

Generic standards (A+B standards)

Standards are agreements between different interest groups (manufacturers, consumers, notified bodies, health and safety authorities and governments). They describe the state of the art at the time they are produced. Depending on the application site of the machine or product, various statutory regulations may apply, making it necessary to apply various standards. Selecting correctly helps the machine manufacturer to comply with statutory requirements.

Generic standards (A and B standards) contain essential information on design, strategy and operation - for the safety of plant and machinery.

The most important generic standards / A and B standards:

Risk assessment/risk reduction, functional safety and safety-related requirements  
Safety of machinery - General principles for design - Risk assessment and risk reduction EN ISO 12100
Safety of machinery - Safety-related parts of control systems EN ISO 13849-1/-2
Safety of machinery - Functional safety of safety-related control systems IEC 62061
Pneumatic fluid power - General rules and safety requirements for systems and their components EN ISO 4414
Hydraulic fluid power - General rules and safety requirements for systems and their components EN ISO 4413
Safety of machinery - Electrical equipment of machines EN IEC 60204 series
Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear EN IEC 60947-5 series

Selection of safeguards

 

Safety of machinery - Guards - General requirements for the design and construction of fixed and movable guards

EN ISO 14120

Safety of machinery - Interlocking devices associated with guards - Principles for design and selection

EN ISO 14119
Safety of machinery - Prevention of unexpected start-up EN ISO 14118
Safety of machinery - Electro-sensitive protective equipment (e.g. light grids, light barriers, light curtains, laser scanners, etc.)

EN IEC 61496-1/-2/-3

Safety of machinery - Pressure sensitive protective devices (e.g. pressure-sensitive safety mats) EN ISO 13856-1/-2/-3
Safety of machinery - Two-hand control devices - Functional aspects - Principles for design. EN ISO 13851
Safety of machinery - Emergency stop - Principles for design  EN ISO 13850
Additional protective measures – Safety of machinery  
Safety distances (protection of upper/lower limbs) EN ISO 13857
Minimum gaps to avoid crushing of parts of the human body EN ISO 13854
Human body measurements, access to machinery, access openings, anthropometric data EN 547-1/-2/-3
Positioning of safeguards with respect to approach speeds EN ISO 13855

Safeguards are necessary to protect people as much as possible from hazards that may arise during machine operation. It is the duty of the manufacturer to select an appropriate safeguard. This must neither increase the risk nor obstruct work on the machine. It's in the manufacturer's interests to provide precise justification for any decision not to equip certain moving parts with safeguards.

Overview

Contact

Pilz Automation Ltd
Pilz House, Little Colliers Field
Corby, Northants, NN18 8TJ
United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 1536 460766
E-Mail: sales@pilz.co.uk

Pilz Automation Ltd

Pilz House, Little Colliers Field
Corby, Northants, NN18 8TJ
United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 1536 460766
E-Mail: sales@pilz.co.uk

Support

Telephone: +44 1536 460866
E-Mail: techsupport@pilz.co.uk