Requirement
State what the complete solution must achieve for safeguarding existing machinery for pressure-sensitive safety-mat systems, including your production pattern and who will review the result.
Machine guarding and safety
Machine Safety Mats Specification Checklist
Use this practical checklist to describe your requirements for machine safety mats around the actual machine, operator tasks, access needs and stopping behaviour, line connections and required results.
A useful specification for machine safety mats describes your operating range, line connections and required results while leaving room for the supplier to propose the best method.
Use this checklist for safeguarding existing machinery for pressure-sensitive safety-mat systems and separate confirmed facts, realistic ranges and items that need a trial.
On the production floor
Describe what the complete process needs to achieve — Machine Safety Mats
Plan machine safety mats around your machine hazards, operator tasks, access, stopping behaviour and validation evidence. Discuss a site-specific safeguarding concept with Oxford Machine Guarding. A clear brief should state the operating range for hazards and foreseeable access for pressure-sensitive safety-mat systems and your requirements for risk-reduction and validation evidence.
Discuss your application
Your checklist
Application, operation and results
Product, part or pack
Operation and interfaces
Results and support
Write measurable requirements
For Machine Safety Mats, turn each checklist item into a range and a test
Range
Record normal and credible extremes for hazards and foreseeable access for pressure-sensitive safety-mat systems, machine motion and stopping behaviour and operating, cleaning and maintenance tasks; avoid relying on one nominal value.
Check
Define representative examples from safeguarding existing machinery for pressure-sensitive safety-mat systems, the method, repetitions, acceptable range and result record so you and the supplier share the same expectation.
For machine safety mats, use “shall” only for a requirement that can be demonstrated. Keep preferences, assumptions, provisional line connections and future options clearly separate.
Connected responsibilities
Be clear about what sits around your machine safety mats
Your final machine safety mats scope must also account for space, visibility and operator ergonomics, risk-reduction and validation evidence, current regulations and the conditions at your site.
- Current standards and required performance levels must be assessed for the complete machine and intended use.
- A site survey and task-based risk assessment are required before a safeguard is selected.
- Mechanical changes can affect access, visibility, cleaning and machine operation.