On 30.10.2019 the new edition of the standard EN ISO 13857:2019 Safety of machinery - Safety distances to prevent hazard zones being reached by upper and lower limbs was published by the European Standards Institute (CEN) and replaces the 2008 edition of the standard.
 
The standard specifies values for the safety distances against reaching hazardous machine areas for industrial and public areas. The safety distances are suitable for protective constructions, such as separating protective devices. The standard also contains information on distances that prevent free access by the lower limbs.
 
Legend:
1 ... Area, the range of the upper limbs
2 ... Area out of reach of the upper limbs (hazardous area)
a ... Height of the point in the danger zone nearest to the reach of the upper limbs
b ... Height of the protective construction
c ... Horizontal safety distance of the point in the danger zone nearest to the reach of the upper limbs
 
EN ISO 13857 is a Type B1 standard (basic safety standard for certain aspects of safety) in accordance with the EN ISO 12100 standard. The requirements in the standard can be supplemented or modified by a Type C standard (machine safety standard).
 
Important changes:
  • New is Table 1 "Passing over protective structures - Only minor injuries together with a low probability of occurrence" instead of Table 1 "low risk". Table 1 may only be used if the extent of injury and the probability of occurrence of the injury are low. The new edition of EN ISO 13857 gives some examples of when the extent of injury and probability of occurrence should be considered low.

  • Access of the whole body is only prevented by protective constructions with slit-shaped openings with < 180 mm and square or circular openings with < 240 mm without additional safety measures.
  • Protective structures with a height of less than 1400 mm may not be used without additional safety measures if there is a risk of over-climbing.
 

If you have further questions about these changes or would like to check whether the changes have an impact on your project - then please contact us!

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