How to Carry Out a Machine Guarding Risk Assessment

1. Define the machine limits

Record intended use, foreseeable misuse, products, speeds, energy sources, operating modes, people exposed and physical boundaries. Include upstream and downstream equipment where hazards interact.

2. Observe real tasks

Walk through start-up, normal running, replenishment, changeover, cleaning, jam clearance, fault finding, maintenance and shutdown. Ask operators and technicians where they actually reach, stand and improvise.

3. Identify hazards and access routes

Look for crushing, shearing, cutting, drawing-in, entanglement, impact, ejection, heat, pressure, electricity, noise and process hazards. Trace reach over, under, through and around existing guards.

4. Estimate and prioritise risk

Consider severity, frequency and duration of exposure, probability of occurrence and possibility of avoidance. Record the basis for priorities rather than relying on a coloured score alone.

5. Apply the risk-reduction hierarchy

First consider inherently safer design. Next use guards and protective devices. Then address residual risk through information, procedures, training and personal protective equipment where appropriate.

6. Specify the safeguarding system

Define guard type, material, aperture, distance, access doors, interlocks, locking, stopping response, reset and restart behaviour. Consider contamination, washdown, visibility and maintainability.

7. Review human factors

A safeguard that makes a frequent task unnecessarily difficult is more likely to be defeated. Design legal and safe ways to perform the task, including setting and recovery modes.

8. Verify and validate

Check physical construction and test safety functions against a written plan. Confirm that the machine reaches and maintains the required safe state and does not restart unexpectedly.

9. Record residual risk and actions

Update drawings, instructions, training, inspection schedules and the modification history. Make ownership and due dates clear for actions outside the guarding project.

How Oxford Machine Guarding can help

We can survey the equipment, define the guarding and safety-system scope, develop the design, supply and install the solution, and provide testing and handover records appropriate to the agreed project boundary.

This guide provides general technical information. It is not a substitute for a machine-specific risk assessment, legal advice or verification by the responsible dutyholder.