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According to various state OH&S regulations the range of different parties involved in the supply and use of plant and machinery must:

• conduct hazard identifications of the machinery;

• assess the risks of these hazards and

• control those risks so far as is practicable.

In our daily work we interact regularly with (often highly) trained engineers and technicians, who have suddenly been charged with the responsibility of purchasing, or fixing, or implementing machines and automation that are bristling with serious hazards. They have become de facto designers but they do not:

• always know the plant regulations exist;
• know how to make a particular piece of equipment safe;
• know what the legislation requires of them;
• know about safe design and
• know which standards might help them nor what those standards contain.

Why is this so?

Because their training is deficient and is not providing this absolutely fundamental knowledge that is required of them all, in every workplace they may encounter.

The outcome:

• Plant designs which will injure an operator.

• The engineer /technician will be liable for the compliance of the design in the courts.

This is a now self-regulated world, nobody tells you anything until it’s too late and then the law is very happy to tell you where you went wrong.

The educational system is failing needs of the manufacturing community and this needs immediate action or the problem will just continue, people learning by default in perpetuity.

Some positives:

• A recent project initiated by Swinburne University aims to study the skill gaps in relation to the design operation and maintenance of safe manufacturing control systems amongst relevant professionals with a view to scoping new curricula.

• NOHSC has initiated a "safe design project" to influence designers and others involved in the life cycle of machinery to control and minimise risks at the design stage. One of the strategies involves these issues being covered in engineering courses and other sub-professional courses. For more information click here .

What you can do about safe design:
 

Ensure AS4024-1 "Safeguarding of Machinery" is available and known in your organisation. This is the key standard to assist engineers and technicians in the design and modification of safe plant and machinery.

It provides direct technical advice on creating safe machines and control systems and it should be used in conjunction with the normal risk assessment procedure

AS 4024-1 is in the process of a major rewrite, which aligns it completely with the European EN and ISO standards, so keep your eyes open for it.

Using this standard combined with training of our engineering graduates and technicians will help to significantly reduced serious injuries and the lifelong consequences that so often result.

This article is an abbreviated version submitted and written by Frank Schrever from Pilz Australia.   For feedback on this article or to submit your own article for review. Contact us here.