Comprehensive safety services: ensuring compliance for OEMs

By OEM Update Editorial September 18, 2023 4:38 pm IST

Manufacturing units in India are moving towards building safer workplaces to ensure a better working environment for humans working on shop floors.

There’s a notable shift in India towards creating safer workplaces in plants, factories, and manufacturing units. This shift aims to provide better working conditions for employees on the shop floors. Manufacturers are now integrating safety measures when constructing machines intended for export to Western nations. This move is driven by the need to adhere to stringent safety standards and legal requirements that come with global machine exports.

The landscape has evolved significantly in recent years. Even Indian manufacturing units actively pursue sustainability and improve human and machine safety. Additionally, the growing concern over cyber threats has led to an increased focus on security measures.

Pilz India emerges as a fitting safety partner for machine builders. They offer a comprehensive range of safety services customised to each company’s specific needs throughout their machines’ entire lifespan. Pilz India can also assist machine builders throughout the conformity assessment, ensuring that their machinery conforms to the regulatory requirements, such as CE marking in Europe, OSHA in the US, NR-12 in Brazil, KOSHA in Korea, GOST in Russia, or CCC in China.

Assistance in the entire machine safety lifecycle
Whether in the design phase, during operations, or during a machine retrofit, manufacturers and operators have a natural and often legal obligation. It aims to identify and resolve potential safety hazards for humans and machines as early as possible. Pilz India offers comprehensive safety services that are personalised to suit the specific requirements of machine builders throughout the entire lifespan of their machines.

A well-known saying holds here: “One cannot fix anything undetected.” Machine builders cannot address a safety gap until they become aware of the limitations of their machine. As a first step towards ensuring the safety of their machines or production lines, machine builders need to undergo a risk assessment. This risk assessment is a customised gap analysis conducted by the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Through this assessment, the machine builder’s machine or production line systematically evaluates potential hazards. Pilz offers a pragmatic, organised, and focused evaluation of plants and machinery that aligns with the machine builder’s company policies, internal procedures, and operational requirements, such as ISO 12100. Pilz India assists machine builders in recognising potential hazards and proposing methods to mitigate these risks.

Following the identification of risks, the next logical step for a machine builder is to develop a safety concept. This concept aids the machine builder in establishing a secure interaction between machines and operators without compromising productivity. These safety concepts are not standardised; they must be uniquely tailored to match the requirements of each machine builder. After completing the risk assessment, experts and consultants at Pilz India create a safety concept that includes a detailed solution proposal for the technical implementation.

Customised concepts and a strong emphasis on safety design empower machine builders to adhere to international standards and directives. Pilz India provides a well-organised design process tailored to the needs of machine builders, drawing on their extensive expertise and experience in design methodologies. Machine builders gain valuable insights from exemplary engineering management that aligns with IEC 61508 compliance.

Following the safety design phase, Pilz India ensures minimal disruption to the production process for machine builders and line builders. While implementing safety measures, it’s essential to strike a balance that doesn’t significantly inflate costs in automation and safety projects. Pilz India takes charge of the entire project planning and management, encompassing the selection, procurement, design, and assembly of required automation components.

After integrating safety systems into the machine, machine builders and manufacturing units must guarantee the accurate implementation of all protective measures by relevant standards and regulations. Equally crucial is the functionality of the safety system. Hence, safety validation is pivotal in ensuring safety for machine builders and manufacturing units. ISO 13849, IEC 62061, and IEC 61508 underscore the importance of validating safety systems, requiring machine builders and manufacturing units to confirm their efficacy. Validation is the sole method to ascertain the precise execution of necessary risk reduction measures and the unequivocal alignment of machinery with applicable standards and regulations.

Pilz India offers a suite of services matched explicitly to its customers. It facilitates efficient machinery validation through a structured approach encompassing machinery safety, risk mitigation, functional safety, and other legal prerequisites.

International compliance at your fingertips
In today’s context, machine builders and manufacturers of production lines are increasingly engaged in global machine and line exports. As this trend expands and India establishes itself as a manufacturing hub, these builders face the crucial task of ensuring that their machines adhere to international standards. Beyond merely seeking services from a reliable source, these builders are searching for partners who can navigate and assist them throughout the compliance journey. They are actively seeking service providers equipped with extensive expertise and experience in comprehending relevant directives and standards and effectively putting them into practice.

Furthermore, when standalone machines, each possessing their certifications, are integrated to create a machinery assembly (such as production lines), the machine builder must perform a comprehensive conformity assessment procedure, including certification, for the entire plant. Given the exact nature of these requirements, machine builders necessitate a service partner with a global presence to ensure a seamless and hassle-free certification process.

Pilz India stands out as the preferred choice for numerous machine builders across India entrusted with aligning their machinery with regulatory prerequisites. Whether it’s achieving CE marking for Europe, compliance with OSHA standards in the US, adhering to NR-12 regulations in Brazil, meeting KOSHA standards in Korea, conforming to GOST requirements in Russia, or obtaining CCC certification in China, Pilz India undertakes the complete conformity assessment procedure on behalf of the machine builder, all by the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. They meticulously identify and apply the relevant standards and directives and guide the machine through the entire safety lifecycle, encompassing risk assessment, safety concept and design, safety implementation, and safety validation. Additionally, Pilz India ensures the compilation of documents mandated by law for inclusion in the technical documentation and extends support to the machine builder regarding document archiving and management.

Your certified safety training partner
Pilz India’s qualification program provides a gradual and adaptable approach for machine builders to enhance their knowledge progressively, enabling them to pursue training up to the required level of qualification. These training courses are categorised into four levels, from introduction to expert certification, covering a wide array of machinery safety and automation topics. This initiative empowers machine builders, factories, and manufacturing units to leverage the expertise and insights of Pilz India, tailoring a training program to suit their specific needs.

Pilz India collaborates with TÜV NORD to offer certifications such as Certified Machinery Safety Expert (CMSE), Certified Expert in CE Marking (CECE), and Certified Expert in Functional Safety (CMFS). Upon successfully passing the final examination following the training, participants are awarded an internationally recognised certificate issued by TÜV NORD.

Pilz India’s qualification program allows individuals to gradually expand their expertise, choosing from a range of training levels, and receive internationally recognised certifications through collaboration with TÜV NORD.

Partnering for safety services 

Pilz India stands at the forefront of technology. It has been delivering various safety services encompassing the entire machine safety lifecycle. Their offerings extend to diverse segments across India, including machine builders, factories, plant operators, and manufacturing units. The company is the go-to choice for machine builders seeking to export their machines abroad while adhering to various international standards. Pilz India offers comprehensive safety and security solutions regarding complying with standards such as CE marking for Europe, OSHA for the US, NR-12 for Brazil, KOSHA for Korea, and GOST for Russia or CCC for China. This is made possible by their profound industry knowledge, experience in handling intricate applications, and their roster of certified experts.

Equipped with substantial domain expertise and certified professionals, Pilz India is a dependable partner for machine builders, alleviating concerns related to intricate compliance and legal matters. Throughout the conformity assessment process, the company supports machine builders across India.

Content courtesy: Pilz India.