Tuesday 12 April 2016

Industry safety standards and its implications : Part-2

software development companies

In most of the countries, standards can be regarded as voluntary whereas regulations are legally mandatory. However standards are usually used as the practical interpretation of the regulations. Therefore the worlds of standards and regulations are closely interlinked.


ISO is a non-governmental organization comprised of the national standards bodies of most of the countries of the world (157 countries at the time of this printing). A Central Secretariat, located in Geneva, Switzerland, coordinates the system.

ISO standards can be identified by the three letters ISO.

The ISO machine standards are organized in the same fashion as the EN standards, three levels: Type A, B and C (see the later section on EN Harmonized European Standards).



The IEC prepares and publishes international standards for electrical, electronic and related technologies. Through its members, the IEC promotes international cooperation on all questions of electro technical standardization and related matters, such as the assessment of conformity to electro technical standards.



These standards are common to all EEA countries and are produced by the European Standardization Organizations CEN and CENELEC. Their use is voluntary but designing and manufacturing equipment to them is the most direct way of demonstrating compliance with the EHSRs of the Machinery Directive.

They are divided into 3 types: A, B and C standards. 

Type A. STANDARDS: Cover aspects applicable to all types of machines. 

Type B. STANDARDS: Subdivided into 2 groups.

Type B1 STANDARDS: Cover particular safety and ergonomic aspects of machinery. 

Type B2 STANDARDS: Cover safety components and protective devices. 

Type C. STANDARDS: Cover specific types or groups of machines. 

It is important to note that complying with a C Standard gives automatic presumption of conformity with the EHSRs. In the absence of a suitable C Standard, A and B Standards can be used as part or full proof of EHSR conformity by pointing to compliance with relevant sections. 


ISO and EN Standards (Type A)

EN ISO 12100

Safety of machinery. Basic concepts, general principles for design. Pts 1 & 2

This is an A standard which outlines all the basic principles including risk assessment, guarding, interlocking, emergency stops, trip devices, safety distances, etc. It references to other standards that provide greater levels of detail. 

In the near future it is likely that EN ISO 12100 and EN ISO 14121 will be combined into one standard.

EN ISO 14121

Principles for risk assessment.

This principle outlines the fundamentals of assessing the risks during the life of the machinery. It summarizes methods for hazard analysis and risk estimation.

An ISO Technical Report: ISO/TR 14121-2 is also available. It gives practical guidance and examples of methods for risk assessment.

ISO and EN Standards (Type B)

EN ISO 11161

Safety of Integrated Manufacturing Systems — Basic Requirements.

This standard was published in its revised form in 2007. It was significantly updated making it very useful for contemporary integrated machinery.

EN ISO 13849-1:2008 

Safety related parts of control systems—Pt 1: General principles for design

This standard is the result of the significant revision of the old EN 954-1 (which is due for withdrawal at the end of 2011). It introduced many new aspects for Functional Safety of control systems. The term “PL” (Performance Level) is used to describe the level of integrity of a system or a subsystem. 

It is available as an alternative to IEC/EN 62061 (see later). Note that EN ISO 13849-1 covers all technologies of control system whereas IEC/EN 62061 only covers electrical technology. 


EN ISO 13849-2

Safety related parts of control systems—Pt 2: Validation

This standard provides details for validation of safety related parts of control systems. It has annexes that give details safety components, principles and fault exclusion.

EN ISO 13850

Emergency Stop devices, functional aspects—Principles for design.

Provides design principles and requirements.

ISO 13851 (EN 574)

Two-hand control devices—Functional aspects—Principles for design.

Provides requirements and guidance on the design and selection of two-hand control devices, including the prevention of defeat and the avoidance of faults. There are various standards which are followed in the software development companies like ISO, PCI DSS, various outsourcing policies, network security standards.

Author Signature - Venu Majmudar

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