Successfully navigating the Machine Safety challenge
The Australian Standard for ‘Safety of Machinery’ is both complex and challenging for many business owners and operators. First, to get a full understanding of the requirements for machine safety in Australia, it’s necessary to become familiar with AS 4024.1—2006, the Australian Standard for “Safety of Machinery”.
This is no mean feat because this single standard is actually made up of 26 individual standards, each covering a particular aspect of machine safety – and that’s just the generic standards that apply to all machinery.
There are also an ever-growing number of AS 4024 part 2 and part 3 standards, covering safety devices and machine types that are being steadily added to the machine safety standards family.
Machine Safety is an aspect of WHS that can prove to be technically challenging, particularly if you’re not sure where to start, because there’s only a limited amount of independent information available to assist newcomers to this field and tertiary education options in machine safety are virtually non-existent.
This typically means the only viable option is to obtain more information and assistance by contacting one, or more, of the manufacturers in this field.
While all of the manufacturers are clearly very knowledgeable in machine safety there are a few things worth considering:
- Manufacturers are also commercial operators who have a vested interest when it comes to providing information and support when you contact them for help.
- Most manufacturers provide a limited number of products for specific niches within the machine safety sector, so they may not actually have the “right” products for a particular application but can offer something that’s almost there.
- Or sometimes, they just ignore the areas where they can’t supply a product rather than recommend a competitor to you who does have the “right” product.
It can be something of a figurative minefield to navigate through the machine safety requirements and on top of that we also have to consider the operational aspects of the machinery being reviewed. That’s because it’s very easy to inadvertently slow a production process, or to make a machine virtually unusable for an operator by applying a machine safety solution that isn’t right for the particular situation.
Safety Services Australia are experts at providing truly independent advice and solutions when it comes to machine safety requirements.
Our senior consultant is a qualified mechanical engineer, has a Master of Applied Science in Occupational Safety, Health and Environmental Management, a Lead Auditor for OHS Management Systems, has fifteen years of experience in the Australian machine safety field and is truly independent of all of the manufacturers.
We can assist you to develop the right safety solution for your machinery and your process to achieve the best solution for your particular situation.
To find out how we can provide you with the most appropriate machine safety advice contact us on info@safetyservices.net.au
