1.

6 Risk Assessment

Objective

 To reduce or eliminate the risk

 To choose an adequate level of safety
 To ensure protection of personnel

Stages

1. Familiarity with the machine environment and application

 Level of training and experience of operatives (from design personnel to maintenance
personnel)
 Identification of dangerous phenomena (mechanical, electrical & physico-chemical
hazards)
 Operating phases
o Design, production
o Transport, assembly
o Adjustment, implementation
o Operation
o Maintenance
o Disassembly
 Identification of components not suitable for safety circuits
o Contract with non-positive opening operation
o Non-mechanically linked contacts and relays
 Identification of component failures affecting safety
o Broken spring, welded contacts: the machine continues to operate
o Non-mechanically linked contacts; the machine continues to operate

2. Overall evaluation of the risk

 Factors affecting the risk to be taken into consideration
o Seriousness of possibility injury (consequence of the risk)
o Duration and frequency of exposure to risk in the danger zone
o Probability of the risk occurring

3. Eliminating the risk

 Whenever possible (objective: “0” accident and “0” breakdown)
 Only intrinsic accident prevention allows total elimination of the risk

4. Reduction of the risk (does not form part of the risk assessment)
 Objectives: to make the risk ‘acceptable” when impossible to eliminate it
 Individual and collective protection, safety measures

The Safety Book Page 10 of 31