The Modernization of Safeguards to Improve the Safety of the Machinery

Keywords: safety, machinery, machine, modernization, safeguards, risk assessment The safety of machinery influences the health and safety of numerous workers globally. Clearly, the safety of machinery is not at required level since machinery-related accidents still take place. Due to the poor design of the safety of machinery the workers are exposed to hazards. The design of machinery should be improved in order to prevent accidents. In the first place, the machinery should be designed to be inherently safe. One way to improve the safety of an existing machine is to modernize the machine. This thesis analyzed the safety of a machine which was operated by Ahlstrom-Munksjö Tampere Oy. The research provided information on safety modernization of the machine, concentrating on one area of the machine which has been rather difficult to improve. The research method combined a constructive approach and a risk assessment method presented by the standard ISO 12100 Safety of Machinery and it was supplemented by the technical report ISO/TR 14121-2 Safety of Machinery aiming at finding the problems and corresponding solutions. Safety deficiencies and hazards were occurring especially within the rotating elements of the machinery. The proposed solutions to reduce the risks related to the hazards included improving safeguards, mainly guards which deny access to the hazardous zone. Almost all the risks were eliminated or reduced by proposed solutions. The research studied only one limited area of the machine and investigation of the whole machine was not on the scope. The implementation of proposed solutions was also excluded from the scope. The effectiveness of the solutions in reality should be assessed after the implementation. The research provided a method to combine several different aspects and to conduct relevant information regarding design of machinery in modernization. It made sure that task based hazards are assessed systematically. This method was transferable to other plants, industries and machineries where human–machine interface existed