Safety Machinary Lifecycle

The safety machinery lifecycle is a structured process that helps organizations manage risk, improve safety, and maintain compliance.
It involves several key stages, including hazard identification, risk assessment, safety system design, verification, and installation.
Each stage plays a crucial role in ensuring that machinery operates safely and effectively, protecting both employees and equipment.
The lifecycle is essential for compliance with safety standards and for maintaining a safe working environment.

Safety Machinary Lifecycle Stage

1. Risk Assessment
According to European legislation, Annex I of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC states that a risk assessment must be carried out in order  to determine the health and  safety requirements that apply to machinery. Machinery must be designed and manufactured taking into account the results of the evaluation and risk assessment.

Annex I of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC also requires the manufacturer by the iterative risk assessment process:

• Determine the limits of the machine, including intended use and reasonably foreseeable misuse.
• Identify the hazards that the machine can generate and the corresponding dangerous situations.
• Estimate the risks taking into account the  severity of the  possible  injuries  or damage to health  and  the probability of their occurrence.
• Assess risks in order to determine whether risk reduction is necessary in accordance with the objective of this Directive.
• Eliminate hazards or reduce the risks arising from such hazards by applying protective measures.

The  scope of the machine safety risk assessment was limited to hazards associated with operation, cleaning and maintenance of the  plant.  The  scope includes  the  equipment  covered by  the  relevant  specification  documents mentioned in Reference Documents of this document.

The scope of the assessment covers all normal and  reasonably foreseeable abnormal tasks that are  required for the operation, cleaning, and  maintenance of this plant. The  assessment also covers hazards associated with potential failures of electrical, control system, and mechanical components that result in harm to persons.

The  assessment is limited  to  the  hazards created by  the  plant  itself during  maintenance and  operation.  Mainly considering the mechanical hazards, noise hazards, electrical hazards, and stored energy of the plant.

2. Safety Conceptual (SC)
The safety concept will consist of Basic Engineering Solutions but not limited to:

1. Machine enclosure (fencing) layout proposal
2. Machine protections (guards) design proposals
3. Cause /effect matrix (energies vs. safety components)
4. Definition of the required performance level (PLr) 
5. Overall safety architecture proposal

For the Safety Concept stage, the Third party will provide comprehensive basic engineering solution report. This should include a high-level layout, detailed drawings, safety matrix, PLr (Performance Level required), and an overall safety architecture proposal.

3. Safety Design (SD)

The Safety Design will consist of but not limited to:

1. Conducting a thorough and detailed review of the design plans and specifications 
2. Ensuring the design adheres to all applicable safety standards and regulations.
3. Identifying potential safety hazards in the design phase to mitigate risks before implementation.
4. Collaborating with the project team and suppliers to address any design discrepancies.

On Safety Design stage, the Third Party will provide an Excel sheet summarizing the review, including at least the following points:
Description of the identified discrepancy, potential risk, and suggested solution or method to address the non-compliance.

4. Post Implementation Safety Validation (VAL)

The post-implementation safety validation will be carried out by the third party, primarily in accordance with CE compliance and the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC but may also encompass other applicable directives if any non-compliance or issues are discovered. 

This review will involve:

• Comprehensive risk assessment: An in-depth verification and evaluation of the current condition of the installation, identifying all potential hazards and risks associated with the equipment, its tasks and its operation,
• A functional testing: Verification of all the modes of the installation (manual, automatic, maintenance). Verification of all the safety equipment and their functionality (testing, cross checking with the diagrams). Verification of all the control buttons and panels (start, stop, request access, reset),
• Documentational review: Verify all the document and their compliance (electrical diagram, pneumatic diagram, instructions manual),
• Electrical and energy compliance: Review the electrical cabinet and connections based on IEC 60204-1 and review all the energies that are connected to the installation (for example pneumatic energy based on ISO 4414, hydraulic energy based on ISO 4413).

Referenced Standards