We reserve the right to make changes • 01_Masi_1.fm © 2011 Leuze electronic GmbH + Co. KG 8 Machine Safety, p. 8 Machine Safety in the EU, p. 8 Machine Safety in the USA, p. 26 Protective devices, p. 31 MACHINE SAFETY 1. Introduction 2. Machine Safety in the EU Increasingly more powerful and more complex machinery and systems – machine operators and maintenance personnel are surrounded these days by complicated, multilayer technolo- gies. For people in general it is increasingly more difficult to detect potential dangers and also increasingly "more" impossi- ble to remove the danger in time before an accident or injury occurs. Machine safety is therefore becoming more and more important, and becoming an integral element of machine construction. In addition to the moral obligation to protect and maintain the health of their workers, the topic of machine safety is also a question of financial sense for the operating company and machine operator. Each and every workplace accident results in costs – and the costs of costs. The examination and explanation of responsibility occupies many departments in the company, right up to executive level. Our objective is to produce safety sensors and evaluation units that enable a cost-effective integration into various machine and system concepts, and that also provide effective people protection in accordance with international safety stan- dards, without hampering production workflows in the process. Throughout the various regions and countries of the world there are different concepts of machine safety and protection in the workplace. Along with differences with the requirements and evaluation of safety concepts, there are also differences with regard to responsibilities and legal consequences. The laws and bodies of rules and regulations of the country in which the machine is operated always apply, even if the machine was constructed in another country. The following information is intended as a guiding overview of the topic of machine safety and does not detract from the in- depth study and compliance with the respectively applicable regional and machine-specific regulations and specifications, as well as the devices' operating instructions. It shall therefore not be possible to derive any form of legal claim from the following information. The European Union (EU) now has 27 member states with some 500 million residents. The member states of the EU have set up bodies that apply across the Union, to which they have transferred parts of their single state sovereignty. The EU Commission and the EU Council compile directives with basic requirements that then must be adopted by the member states into their national law. The European standards organizations, CEN, CENELEC and ETSI are commissioned to draw up EU standards that technically solidify the applicable directives and legal provisions. 2.1 European Directives EU product directives as the basis for free merchan- dise traffic 20 product directives have so far been drawn up to dismantle obstacles to trade in the single European market. The relevant products may only be distributed if they satisfy these basic requirements. If a product complies with the relevant harmo- nized EU standards, it is assumed that the basic requirements are met. A manufacturer can also use other technical solutions if the same level of safety is proven. Fulfillment of the basic requirements is determined in a formal conformity assessment procedure. This is performed, depending on the potential risk of the products, as much as possible within the manufacturer’s own area of responsibility. Important directives in the area of EU machine safety and their implementation under German Law EU Directives German Law Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC 9. GPSG (Device and Product Safety Law) Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC 1. GPSG (Device and Product Safety Law) ATEX Directive 94/9/EC 11. GPSG (Device and Product Safety Law) General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC Device and Product Safety Law (GPSG) EMC Directive 2004/108/EC EMC Law
