Intended use is what a machine was designed and assessed to do, as stated by its manufacturer in the instructions and technical documentation.
It matters because both PUWER and supply law hang duties on it: equipment must be suitable for its intended use, and a machine repurposed for something its designer never assessed can invalidate its CE marking. Modify a machine significantly and you may take on the manufacturer’s responsibilities yourself.
The principles of prevention are the recognised order of priority for controlling risk, favouring collective controls over protecting individuals.
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require employers to avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, and to assess and reduce the risk where it can’t be avoided.
EN 60204-1 is the standard covering the electrical equipment of machines: supply isolation, control circuits, e-stop functions and verification testing.
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.
