Review on International Machinery Safety Requirements

Abstract

This thesis introduces and compares machinery safety legislation in the European Union, the United States, and the international system of ISO, with particular reference to the process of the EU Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC replacement with the new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230. This thesis explains how these systems are consistent and divergent in regard to regulatory structure, conformity assessment, safety principles, and enforcement practices. Qualitative document analysis was used to review official legislation, harmonised standards, OSHA regulations, ANSI guidelines and ISO/IEC frameworks in order. The most important requirements were classified and compared to create a systematic regional comparison. A digital material bank was also established to systematize standards, regulations and confirmed reference links to be in use. The results indicate, despite the fact that the EU, U.S., and ISO pursue disparate legal models, such as EU pre-market conformity, U.S. post-market workplace enforcement, and voluntary ISO standardisation, they all use the same underlying safety philosophy, which is based on ISO 12100 hazard identification, risk assessment and hierarchical reduction of risks. Significant discrepancies were found in documentation requirements, third party certification and enforcement mechanisms. The thesis also finds that the future state of the global machinery safety is more harmonised and more complex through digitalisation, AI and cybersecurity. The developed material bank assists in future research and educational practices.