Safety and health in the use of machinery
Safety and health in the use of machinery
This code of practice is based on principles established in international instruments relevant to the protection of workers’ safety and health. It is intended to provide guidance on safety and health in the use of machinery in the workplace. Worker safety and health should be addressed from design to decommissioning of machinery.
Part I of the code sets out the scope, objectives, hierarchy of controls
and definitions, as well as the general obligations, responsibilities and
duties of the competent authority, designers and manufacturers, suppliers and employers, workers and their organizations. Part II deals
with technical requirements and specific measures that should be taken
in order to protect workers’ safety and health. The relevant sections of
this part should be used by manufacturers and suppliers to ensure that
machinery is designed and constructed in such a way that it is safe
Safety and health in the use of machinery
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for use and fits the purpose for which it is intended. The relevant sections should be used by employers to assess whether machinery they
select and use or modify is fit for purpose and suitable for the specific
working environment and conditions. Part II includes chapters on general statements, control systems, machinery guarding and protection
against mechanical and other hazards, information, including marking
and supplementary measures relating to specific machinery types. The appendices provide more specific information for manufacturers,
suppliers and employers to supplement Parts I and II. They include
information on types of different guarding for machinery and detailed
supplementary technical information for certain specific machinery
types. The information in the appendices is intended to be informative
and provide more detailed guidance to assist designers and manufacturers and employers. Because the state of the art may change over
time, enabling more effective measures to be provided, designers and
manufacturers and employers should always refer to current specific
guidance, starting with the references indicated in the bibliography of
this code, for example. The application of the code at the national and enterprise levels
should be pursued as part of comprehensive occupational safety and
health (OSH) programmes and systems, seeking further guidance
from relevant ILO instruments, in particular the Occupational Safety
and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), the Occupational Safety and
Health Recommendation, 1981 (No. 164), the Protocol of 2002 to
the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, the Promotional
Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006
(No. 187), the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and
Health Recommendation, 2006 (No. 197), and the Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (ILO–OSH 2001),
as well as other ILO instruments and codes of practice listed in the
bibliography. The practical recommendations of ILO codes of practice are intended
for the use of all those, in both the public and private sectors, who have
responsibility for safety and health management. Codes of practice are
not intended to replace national laws or regulations or accepted standards. They are drawn up with the objective of providing guidance, in
accordance with the provisions of national laws and regulations, to all
those who may be engaged, through social dialogue, in the framing
of provisions of this kind or in elaborating programmes of prevention
and protection at the national or enterprise level. They are addressed
in particular to governmental and public authorities, employers and
workers and their organizations, as well as management and safety and
health committees in related enterprises. The provisions of this code of practice should be read in the context of the conditions in the country proposing to use the guidance it
contains, the scale of operation involved and technical possibilities.
In this regard, the needs of developing countries are also taken into
consideration.
