Are Safety Categories Obsolete?

Have you heard that Safety Categories are a thing of the past? That changing international standards have rendered Safety Categories redundant since the start of 2012? And that all new safety control systems for machinery must be designed to Performance Levels (PL) or Safety Integrity Levels (SIL)?

If so, here is some more information on the matter:

Yes, international standards have now moved to probabilistic methods, with two current standards as the options:

1. IEC 62061 – Highly mathematical method where safety control systems are designed to a Safety Integrity Level (SIL)
2. ISO 13849.1 2008 – Method based on the architecture of Safety Categories where safety control systems are designed to a Performance Level (PL)

However, Australian Standard AS 4024.1501 is a current machine safety standard where safety control systems can be designed to a Safety Category. So if you are comfortable using Safety Categories, you can continue to use this standard.

It is true that AS 4024.1 will eventually be updated to reflect current international standards, but AS 4024.1501 will remain unchanged for at least the next 3-4 years.

In my opinion, for simple safety systems, (i.e. systems using devices such as safety relays), Safety Categories is a good option that will result in a high level of integrity. If software is being designed, I would recommend following the software lifecycles available in IEC/AS 62061 or ISO 13849.1.
However, be aware that at some stage in the future our Australian Standards will transition to these probabilistic methods, but not in the immediate future.

Is Work Health and Safety Harmonisation Still Alive?

In July 2008, an agreement was reached between the Commonwealth and all states and territories within Australia except Western Australia (WA) to begin the process of harmonising Australia’s work health and safety laws. This new model was aimed at reducing red tape and compliance costs for businesses that operate in multiple states. The umbrella laws would also provide workers with equal levels of safety across the nation as well as recognising their licensing and training nationally.

Fast forward to 2013 and what is the state of play? We now have Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales, ACT, South Australia and Tasmania all adopting the harmonised model. This leaves just WA and Victoria out of the loop.

WA are still committed to the process and have completed their draft WHS which is expected to be implemented in 2013. WA has also started public consultation on the Regulations in August 2012 and will be working through this process in 2013.

This leaves Victoria. The last communication on the WorkSafe website stated that Victoria would not adopt the national legislation. The reason for this stance is an expected $3.4 billion cost over five years with no perceived benefit in terms of safety levels.

So what does this mean for harmonisation? Do you believe it will still be successful without the involvement of Victoria? Do you believe that Victoria will eventually join the rest of the states and adopt national safety legislation or stay with their own set of rules?

How often should risk assessments be reviewed?

A common question associated with machine safety is, how often does the machine’s risk assessment need to be reviewed? In the past each state and territory had its own Act, Regulations and Code of Practice, which had slightly different requirements. Some legislation, such as NSW Regulations 2001, states that some risk assessments should be reviewed every 5 years. Another document released by the Queensland government titled “Guide to Safeguarding common Machinery & Plant” indicated that risk management should be reviewed once every 12 months.

The national Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation was planned to remove these differences by providing a uniform set of Act, Regulations and Code of Practice for all states and territories. Unfortunately this hasn't been adopted by all states this year. The following guidance comes from the Safe Work Australia Code of Practice, “How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks.”

The process of Risk Management, which includes risk assessment, is an ongoing process that may be triggered when:

• Starting a new business
• Changing work practices, procedures
• Purchasing new equipment
• New information on risks becomes available
• An incident occurs
• Workers, health and safety representative or others raise concerns
• WHS regulation specify the need for specific hazards

My question would be; if none of the above events occur, when should the existing risk controls be reviewed?