Best Practice in Risk Assessment for the Safety of Industrial Machines - to Ensure Proper Implementation by Manufacturers and Users -

Abstract

After the amendment to the Occupational Safety & Health Law in 2006, an increasing number of manufacturers and users areimplementing risk assessment to ensure the safety of industrial machines. This article describes best practice at a machine manufacturer and at a machine user in Japan, with regard to organization and methods for implementing risk assessment and risk reduction, using actual machines as examples. It clearly shown that the user could not obtain information on correct use including residual risks of the newly ordered machine, until the user requested such information to the manufacturer, in line with the Safety Guideline issued by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. It is expected that, as shown by these cases, risk assessment in proper methods and risk reduction based on safety technology have been widely adopted in Japan.