Health & safety

We specialise in machine & process engineering safety, specifically in the compliance assessment & the design of machine safety-related systems. Working in partnership with ISS Safety Limited, we offer customers a complete turnkey service from design specification to the installation and commissioning of a fully compliant machine safety system. The service starts with detailed hazard analysis, coupled with a task review of personnel, machine & process. A comprehensive risk assessment, based on machinery safety standards, the Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), will determine the risk profile of the machine or process. This will form the basis of the risk evaluation required to assess the effectiveness of the existing safety system. It will also quantify what further risk reduction is required to make the machine/process safe to operate & meet statutory safety requirements. Our safety engineers will design & integrate safety into the machine or process. They will also validate & certify the design. All our safety engineers are NEBOSH qualified with extensive experience in machine-related safety systems. Working on field-based projects in a variety of different industries brings industry-specific system knowledge & application depth to every safety project. Our installation team will then install & commission the safety system, as well as training your personnel to operate & maintain the system. Common questions asked of Machine Covers Limited include: When did machine safety become so complicated? Why can?t I simply install my new guard into the existing machine stop circuit? The answer: the introduction of EN13849-1 in 2008. The introduction of EN13849-1 ?Safety related parts of Control systems? increased the demands on both end users & machine builders when designing safety control systems for machines. EN13849-1 requires the designer of the safety system to verify that the installed safety circuit provides an adequate level of risk reduction & achieves the performance level as specified in the risk assessment that is commensurate with the risks present at the machine. There is a common misconception that none of this applies when upgrading old machinery, however it is important to be aware that this standard is referenced in the Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulation (PUWER) under Regulation 18: Control Systems. The designer of any safety control circuit must be able to demonstrate that the circuit has been designed to minimise the effect of failure or, in other words, designed to be fail-safe. The greater the risk, the more resistant the control system should be to the effects of failure.

For more information on Health & safety talk to Machine Covers (Puwer Machinery Guarding)