Pilz Machine Safety Training Courses 2017

You have probably heard before terms and phrases such as guard locking, single point of failure, redundancy, diversity, common cause failure, series connection of switches, fault masking, etc. Their definitions can be confusing and there is a possibility that different people will give various interpretations of what some of these terms mean, which is even more frustrating. Sometimes you are referred to standards for an answer and they can be ambiguous and difficult to interpret.

‘AS/NZS 4024.1 Series: Safety of Machinery’ was revised and aligned with international standards to strengthen workplace safety. ‘Part 1602: Interlocking devices associated with guards — Principles for design and selection’ is a direct text adoption of ISO 14119 and represents a significant update to the earlier version.

Also, AS/NZS 4024.1602 considers additional technologies such as RFID or electromagnetic guard locking, classifies interlocking devices and sets more clearly the specifications for installing guards. Some of these specifications are of particular significance and include protection against guard manipulation, also known as defeating of guards, and the ease in which users can defeat the guard interlocking installed.

There are numerous changes and new principles that have been introduced in AS/NZS 4024.1602, some of which include:

• types of interlocking devices (types 1, 2, 3 and 4)
• levels of coding (low, medium and high)
• guard locking (mechanical vs electromagnetic)
• defeat of interlocking devices (defeat prevention measures)
• the use of fault exclusions (ie, single point of failure)
• testing infrequently used guards (monthly and annual testing depending on PL)
• series connection of interlocking devices (fault masking)

This places the onus on designers today to take into account requirements from the standard (when designing machinery safety) and to design safety systems in such a way that it minimises the motivation for defeating the interlocking devices. The designer must also take measures against reasonably foreseeable actions to attempt to defeat the guard interlocking. This could be achieved using new technologies and various features offered by different manufacturers to make the selection adequate and efficient for the right application.

If you are interested in learning more about these topics and how they apply to your business, download Pilz’s 2017 training calendar, including all training courses, and attend one of the company’s machinery safety training courses. You can also take advantage of a 10% early-bird discount for all machinery training courses (excluding CMSE) when booking four weeks in advance.