Functional safety is the part of a machine’s safety that depends on its control system working correctly, from sensor through logic to actuator.
It is engineered under EN ISO 13849-1 or EN IEC 62061 and measured as a Performance Level or Safety Integrity Level. As guarding relies ever more on electronics and software instead of steel, this is where much of modern machinery safety is decided.
Span of control describes exactly what an emergency stop will actually bring to a halt, which must be clear to the person pressing it.
Self-certification is the conformity route that lets a manufacturer declare compliance without third-party involvement, available for all machinery not explicitly listed in Annex I of the Machinery Regulation.
The Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC sets the safety requirements for electrical equipment operating within defined voltage ranges, one of the directives a compliant control panel must meet.
For nearly two decades, the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) has been the backbone of machinery safety compliance across Europe.
Introduction Machinery is now software-defined, connected, and increasingly autonomous. The Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 treats software failures as
A question we hear regularly from clients is which assessment do they actually need for their machinery —
Speak to a Knox Thomas engineer about compliance, risk assessment and safeguarding for your machinery.
