Guide to Establishing a Machine Safety Process

For facilities located within the United States and its territories, this technical report describes one strategy for establishing an effective safety process to comply with the requirements of OSHA and conform with the expectations of stakeholders.  The guidance provides a lifecycle approach to machine safety.  Some ANSI standards contain content that may apply to all lifecycle phases while other standards may apply to only part of a machine lifecycle.

ANSI B11.0, Safety of Machinery is a type-A foundational standard that includes content that applies to all phases of the machinery lifecycle, and therefore will not be included in the list of standards that are highlighted at each lifecycle phase.  It is important to note that the responsibilities of both the user and supplier are different over the machine lifecycle; ANSI B11.0 explains the differences and provides guidance for each entity.

It is not uncommon for an industrial facility to have equipment/machinery in various/different lifecycle phases, therefore, at any point in time, the appropriate standards may differ from one machine to another.  This technical report does not contain an exhaustive list of all standards, as additional standards (such as ANSI /ASSP Z244.1) may apply depending on factors such as:

·         the equipment type;

·         RAGAGEP (Recognized As Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices); and/or

·         industry best practices.