The hierarchy of controls ranks risk reduction measures from most to least effective: eliminate, substitute, isolate, engineer, administer, and only then rely on PPE.
The higher up the list a control sits, the less it depends on people doing the right thing every shift, which is why HSE favours collective measures over individual ones. PPE sits at the bottom because it protects one person and fails quietly through poor fit, damage or simply not being worn.
An interlocked guard is a movable guard wired to the machine’s safety controls: open it and the hazardous movement stops until the guard is closed again and the machine restarted.
Partly completed machinery is equipment, such as a bare industrial robot, that only becomes a working machine once integrated into an installation.
COSHH is the UK regulation governing the control of substances hazardous to health, covering everything from chemical storage to housekeeping in an audit.
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.
