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Machine safety is everyone’s responsibility – including managers, supervisors, maintenance workers and employees.
Plant includes machinery, equipment, appliances, containers, implements and tools and components or anything fitted or connected to those things. Some examples of plant include lifts, cranes, computers, machinery, scaffolding components, conveyors, forklifts, augers, vehicles, power tools and amusem*nt devices.
Must dos
There are specific laws about working with plant to make sure it is safe for operators and people nearby.
Some laws apply to designers of plant, some relate to manufacturers, importers, suppliers and installers, while others are for owners, managers and supervisors.
Find out what you're responsible for:
- Design Find out more
- Supply Find out more
- Operation Find out more
Machine guarding
Machines, especially those with moving parts, are a hazard to operators and other workers who can be caught in the machine, struck, or hit by ejected machine parts.
Machines are a leading cause of workplace fatalities and injuries in themanufacturing sector.
Manage the risks
Use a combination of safety controls to manage the risks:
- Use barriers, such as guards, to physically prevent access to the machine.
- Use presence sensing devices that stop the machine when someone gets too close.
- Choose or design machines with controls that provide distance between the machine and the operator.
- Employ administrative controls to establish safe work systems (eg processes whereby machines must be powered down before cleaning or maintenance can take place and hazardous areas are clearly marked and isolated while the machine is in use).
Safety guarding on machines and equipment
If you manage or control machinery, equipment and plant you must :
- Ensure guarding is well constructed and securely mounted to plant to resist impact or shock from operation and
- it is permanently fixed physical barrieror an interlocked physical barrier (if access to the danger area is required during operation, maintenance or cleaning), or
- it is a physical barrier that can only be altered or removed by the use of tools (when it is not reasonably practical to use guarding referred to in 1), or
- it has a presence sensing safeguarding system(when it is not reasonably practical to use guarding referred to above).
- If you need to remove guarding for maintenance and cleaning, you must take steps to ensure (so far as isreasonably practicable)that the plant cannot be restarted until the guarding is replaced.
- If the plant contains moving parts that could break, disintegrate, or be ejected, the guard must effectively (so far as isreasonably practicable)contain the broken or ejectedparts.
- Design the machine to make bypassing or disabling the guarding as difficult as reasonably practical
- Ensure any pipe or other part of the plant that is subject to heat or cold is guarded or insulated if there is a risk of injury.
Machine guarding videos
- Machine guarding in the food industry safety alert - SafeWork NSW YouTube
- How to use machine guarding - SafeWork NSW YouTube
Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) procedures
An isolation procedure is a set of predetermined steps that should be followed when workers are required to perform tasks such as maintenance, repair, installation, and cleaning of plant.
Safe isolation procedures (including the use of locks and tags) should be developed in consultation with relevant workers.
If you are a small to medium business this guide will help you develop a Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) procedure.
- Plant, equipment and machinery energy isolation guide (PDF, 10885.87 KB)
- Handy checklist (PDF, 66.7 KB)
- SafeWork NSW YouTube videos:
Machine safety pack
Download and complete this self-assessment checklist on machine safety (PDF, 161.35 KB) to identify key areas where you can improve compliance.
Machine safety videos
Plant resources
- Buying an auger
- Purchasing a new item of plant fact sheet
- Purchasing a second-hand item of plant fact sheet
- Buying or supplying plant safety poster
- Registering plant designs and items of plant
- Amusem*nt devices and passenger ropeways
- Forklifts
- Working safely with conveyors
- Lifts, escalators and moving walkways
- Tower cranes
- Guide to inspecting and maintaining plant
- Self-Assessment Checklist: Safety around Moving Plant (PDF, 171.08 KB) - This tool relates to powered mobile plant operation, high risk work licensing, pedestrian separation, load handling, seatbelts and general mobile plant safety and maintenance.
When completing the self-assessment tool, consider your whole workplace. If you are marking ‘NO’ to any question, this is an indication that you need to make improvements in this area to become compliant with safety legislation.
Related information
- Code of practice: managing the risks of plant in the workplace (PDF, 1987.96 KB) – SafeWork NSW
- Due diligence – SafeWork NSW
- Guidelines for Safe Collaborative Robot Design and Implementation – Centre for Work Health and Safety
