SAFETY & HAZARDOUS AREAS FEATURE
UNCOVERING CE EQUIPMENT MARKING MISCONCEPTIONS
Andrew Yates, sales director at Endoline Machinery, says it’s unwise to take a CE certified machine at face value. He explains how it is important to consider safety concerns in the installation environment
A
ccording to Endoline Machinery, it has set the benchmark for health and
safety within food manufacturing facilities across the UK with the launch of its latest system – the 704 Fully Automatic Random Case Sealer. At the same time, the company is addressing the misconceptions food manufacturers, in particular SME’s, have around health and safety regulations and European CE Equipment Marking. In 2016 The Food Standards Agency (FSA) began the roll out of a four year plan which will see a new, tougher regulatory model in place by 2020, and will include greater guidance on machine safety. Already, following the initial launch, food manufacturers, whose health and safety regulations do not comply, have been given stiffer sentences. Consequently, getting health and safety
right has never been more paramount, particularly as automation amongst food and drink manufacturers is still on an upward trajectory, with 73% engaged in automating their manufacturing processes at the end of 2017. With the increased governance around
health and safety, safeguarding machinery in areas where manual operators also work, is a key concern amongst food
customers and machinery manufacturers. Yates said: “It isn’t just a case of conforming to regulations and getting the CE mark on a machine. Manufacturers need to understand the area the machine will be located in and assess the environment for any safety concerns such as access.” As testament to this, Endoline unveiled
its re-engineered 704 Fully Automatic Random Case Sealer at last year’s PPMA show. The random case sealer not only meets all CE regulations, but now features an infeed Safety Light curtain as standard, and ergonomic design improvements for safer operator access. While these additional components are not pre- requisites for CE certification, Endoline has taken them from its 744 high speed, random case sealer – which is installed within food manufacturing sites across the globe.
End of line equipment can present
manufacturers. “The over-riding objective when installing end of line systems is to increase productivity and output,” said Andrew Yates, sales director of Endoline Machinery. “As a result, many manufacturers will take a CE certified machine at face value. There are, however, a number of other factors which need to be considered, especially the risk assessment of the environment the machine will be installed within.”
FULL TRANSPARENCY While all of its machinery complies with CE regulations, Endoline stresses the importance of full transparency between
The increase in
automation means more and more manual workers are working side-by-side with machinery, so health and safety compliance is more critical than ever before
End of line equipment can present significant hazards. The introduction of the infeed Safety Light Curtain on the 704 helps safeguard the machine
PANEL LAMPS GAIN DUST CERTIFICATION
BA390 intrinsically safe panel lamps from BEKA associates now have IECEx and ATEX dust certification in addition to their original gas approval. Permitting installation in all dust Zones, this additional certification further extends the applications for this range of panel mounting LED lamps. Available in five different colours, all the lamps incorporate a 20mA current regulator which maintains
a constant lamp brightness independent of supply voltage variations. Mounted in an industry standard 22.5mm diameter hole, the front of the lamp has IP66 protection making it suitable for installation in areas which will be washed with a hose. The lamps terminals have IP20 protection, which can be increased to IP66 by an optional BA599 rear sealing kit, which includes a gland to seal and support the connecting cable. Also included in this range of panel lamps are very low current intrinsically safe BA390S models which have been optimised to provide guaranteed performance at 4mA, but will continue to function at lower currents. These do not incorporate a current regulator and they can be powered by almost any intrinsically safe voltage source such as a logic signal, or an output from a multiple I/O fieldbus module. In addition to IECEx and ATEX certification, all
intrinsically safe models have FM approval for use in hazardous gas atmospheres. Uncertified BA590 models are available for applications in non- hazardous areas. BEKA
www.beka.co.uk/led_panel_lamps.html
significant hazards. Not only do they operate automatically and, in some cases, at very high speed, but the openings, to allow the cases to be transported through the system, are often large enough to be a potential for unauthorised access. The introduction of the infeed Safety
Light Curtain on the 704, not only safeguards the machine, but eliminates the need for additional safety guarding so reducing the overall footprint of the machine even further. Yates concluded: “With so much uncertainty surrounding Brexit and stringent regulations it is important that our customers see us as an authority in health and safety machinery. We continuously review safety levels of all machines and offer our customers ongoing support to ensure they remain compliant.”
Endoline Automation
www.endoline-automation.com
PROCESS & CONTROL | DECEMBER/JANUARY 2019 35
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