These days operating personnel and users are permanently surrounded by complex technology - whether at work or in their leisure time, by day or by night. So users should find devices uncomplicated and safe to operate. Safety for automated plant and machinery plays an increasingly important role in ensuring this. The correct application of standards and directives is vitally important.

One human action in every thousand results in an error that can comprise the safety of personnel.

Such critical situations often occur under time pressure, perhaps because the whole process needs to be stopped to rectify the fault on a plant.

Defeating an interlocking device can also be included here, when the complex procedure of restarting the plant can be avoided by removing a part that has become stuck during operation. Scientific studies show: half of all fatal industrial accidents can be attributed to operator behaviour!

Yet fatal industrial accidents are just the tip of the iceberg. They will generally have been preceded by a high number of less serious accidents. That's why the analysis of near misses is a key part of prevention in occupational safety.
 

 
A large proportion of the consequential costs of accidents (ca. 30 - 40 %) can be avoided if targeted measures were taken with regard to health and safety. Reducing the consequential cost of accidents by avoiding industrial accidents is therefore the "economical" order of the day!

Gain an overview of the directives and laws related to safety. We include the key safety standards worldwide.

Regulation upon regulation – but what's important for the safety of plant and machinery? Which standards apply to my industry? If you are looking for answers to these questions, the Standards section is the right place to be.