We all know how much work goes into designing machinery that is safe to use. Machine safety guards, safety control functions, emergency stops and interlocks form the first line of defence, backed by hours of design, testing and risk assessment.
Even then, some hazards cannot be eliminated without making the machine useless. A chainsaw cannot be completely risk-free and still cut wood. These unavoidable dangers are residual risks hazards that remain after all reasonably practicable measures have been taken.
Machine safety labels exist to help deal with those residual risks. Their job is to indicate compliance with key legislation, communicate risks clearly and help operators work safely with it and around it by providing key information.
This post looks at three aspects of safety marking: information required by the end-user to use the machinery, labelling on the machine and the safety warning signs placed around the machine, and how each of these connects to the Machinery Directive, EN ISO 7010 and standards for electrical products like EN 61010-1.
The legal and standards framework — in brief
The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC (mirrored in the UK Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations) is the main legal framework for machinery. In Annex I, three ideas matter most here: providing information and warnings on the machinery, marking the machinery so that information is visible, legible and indelible, and supplying instructions that explain residual risks.
The official Guide to the Machinery Directive adds detail, including the principle that warnings must be positioned so they can be seen in time.
EN ISO 7010 standardises the shapes, colours and pictograms used on safety signs so the same symbol means the same thing wherever you see it. EN 61010-1 applies to certain electrical measurement, control and laboratory equipment and is an example of a standard which explicitly sets marking and durability requirements for machinery safety labels and legends.
1. Information required by the end-user
The first category is the information the operator or maintainer needs when they go to use the machine, for example: direction of movement or rotation, lock/unlock orientations, isolation steps and prompts such as “read manual before …”.
Under the Machinery Directive, essential information for safe use must appear on the machinery and must be visible, legible and durable, and the same hazards and residual risks must be covered in the instructions.
EN ISO 7010 can help to shape how this information looks. Using an established symbol such where possible (such as M002 (“Refer to instruction manual”) or M021 (“Disconnect before maintenance”)) helps convey the message quickly. Where a custom label or symbol is needed, ISO 7010’s directions on shape and colour can still be helpful, and can be supported with short, clear text if necessary.
Placement should be practical: next to the relevant control, access point or moving part, within the user’s natural line of sight, and sized so that it can be read quickly during normal operation.
2. Labelling on the machine: nameplate, CE marking and safety information
The second category is the fixed labelling on the machine itself. This is where identification, legal marking and key safety information come together: the nameplate, CE or UKCA marking, ratings and hazard warnings on the body of the machine.
The nameplate — the machine’s passport
The nameplate acts as the machine’s ‘passport’. It includes the manufacturer’s name and address, the machine designation and type or series, the serial number and the year of construction. In most cases, the CE or UKCA marking should also appear here.
These details link the physical machine to its Declaration of Conformity, the correct set of instructions and the right maintenance information. On a site full of similar equipment, a clear, durable nameplate is often the most reliable way to know exactly which machine you are dealing with.
The Machinery Directive requires such marking to be visible, legible and indelible, and these stipulations apply directly to the nameplate. It should be located where it can actually be seen, i.e. not hidden deep in a frame or behind a permanently closed panel, typically this is near the main power supply cable.
CE marking — signalling conformity
The CE marking (and UKCA in Great Britain) signals that the manufacturer claims conformity with all applicable legislation, including the Machinery Directive.
From a labelling point of view, the CE mark should be treated as a critical safety-related marking. It must be drawn in the correct proportions, and applied so it remains visible, legible and durable for the life of the machine. A badly reproduced or half-worn-off CE mark undermines confidence in the rest of the product.
Technical and hazard markings
Beyond the nameplate and CE marking, the machine should carry technical and hazard warning labels at relevant locations. Typical examples include voltage and current ratings near terminals, earthing symbols, hot surface warnings on covers, crushing hazard warnings near in-running nips and “Do not touch” prohibitions where complete guarding is not possible.
Again, EN ISO 7010 can be helpful here. Though EN ISO 7010 applies most directly to warning signs in the area around the machine (see section 3), the consistent visual language it introduces may be helpful when communicating safety information on a machine.
For electrical and laboratory equipment within the scope of EN 61010-1, additional marking rules and explicit durability tests apply. Labels and legends must withstand the conditions in which it is installed and maintenance (e.g. the use of cleaning chemicals) without becoming illegible. The underlying principle is universal: safety-critical markings should last at least as long as the machine remains in service.
Durability and maintenance
A label that was perfect on day one but is unreadable after a year is of little value. Durability is therefore part of compliance, not an optional extra.
In practice, that means choosing label materials and adhesives that suit the environment (including those which can withstand things like oils, coolants, cleaning agents, UV exposure and abrasion, depending on the environment). It also means building label checks into routine maintenance, so that missing, damaged or faded labels are replaced promptly and to the same or higher standard as the original.
3. Safety warning signs placed around the machine
The third category of safety marking includes the safety signs in the area around the machine rather than on the machine itself. These protect people who are approaching, passing by or working nearby, not just the operator at the controls.
Although the Machinery Directive concentrates on the machine, the duty to provide information and warnings relevant to safe use extends into the surrounding area whenever residual risks reach beyond the immediate use of the machine. The Guide to the Machinery Directive emphasises that warnings must be seen in time (i.e. before interaction with the risk, not after) which usually means placing signs on doors, walkways, barriers and approach routes, not just on the machine casing.
Using EN ISO 7010 symbols for these area signs as well as the on-machine safety labels creates a single, consistent visual language across the whole site.
If you want a closer look at why EN ISO 7010 is so important you can read more here:
Why EN ISO 7010 matters – https://knoxthomas.co.uk/why-bs-en-iso-7010-matters/
Visible, legible, durable… and meaningful
Across all three categories of marking; instructions for the user, markings on the machine and signs around it, the same three principles keep appearing: visibility, legibility and durability. A label that cannot be seen, understood or that fails early is effectively no label at all.
By using the Machinery Directive as the legal baseline, EN ISO 7010 as your visual language and the additional information in EN 61010-1 (where applicable) as your durability benchmark, you can design labelling that supports your risk reduction measures instead of being an afterthought.
Ultimately, machinery safety labelling is about communication, not just compliance. When the right information is on the machine, for the user and around the machine, and when it remains visible, legible and durable over time, you are not only meeting the law; you are protecting the people who keep your machinery, and your business, running.
