Content area
Full text
The 21st century is approaching. Technology and engineering advances continue to propel society forward at a rapid pace. As a result, professional careers are becoming more complex and technical in nature.
What effect have these changes had on machine safety? Great advances in safeguarding have been made since the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s. In response to the exploitation of labor came labor laws-and the advent of machine safety engineering. Both ergonomics and environmental disciplines are now recognized as essential. OSHA is revising its thinking in order to be more effective in an ever-changing world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and European Community standards and directives for safe machines are emerging as essential to global trade and economics.
Despite these advances, machineryrelated injuries and deaths continue to occur. As technology increases, the nature of hazards changes, presenting new challenges that range from robotics and automation to advanced transportation systems. In today's workplace, a myriad of machines are present, each with its own unique set of hazards.
Every year, 30 million injuries occur due to manufactured products. Of these, 21 percent are attributed to design defects; 25 percent to inadequate guarding; and 44 percent to inadequate warnings. Manufacturers have a duty to operators that safety be a primary design criteria, yet many fail to meet recognized standards of industry (OSHA, ANSI, European Community) or abide by recommended practices set by authorities such as National Safety Council (NSC).
THE DESIGN PROCESS
In today's workplace, ergonomic principles must be considered early in the design process. Many injuries and deaths could be prevented by giving some forethought to safety during the conceptual phase. Machine designers must consider all aspects of their product's use-including its reasonably foreseeable misusewhen it is "on the drawing board."
It is much more cost-effective to design in safety features than it is to redesign them in a later modification. If the hazard is discovered later, it may be costly to design a retrofit that prevents any adverse impact.
Furthermore, because today's legal culture is intolerant of unacceptable risks, designers must realize that unsafe acts/conditions are often symptoms-not causes-and that most accidents are predictable. It is easy to blame operator carelessness, but by applying common sense and sound engineering principles and judgment, it is...