Machine Safety In The Usa; Minimum Requirements Of The Osha - Siemens Sinumerik 840D sl Function Manual

Regulations and standards

1.3 Machine safety in the USA

1.3 Machine safety in the USA
An essential difference in the legal requirements regarding safety at work between
the US and Europe is the fact that in the US there is no legislation regarding ma-
chinery safety that is applicable in all of the US states and that defines the respon-
sibility of manufacturers/sales&marketing organizations. On the other hand, there
is a general requirement that the employer must offer a safe workplace.
1.3.1

Minimum requirements of the OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) from 1970 regulates the require-
ment that employers must offer a safe place of work. The core requirements of
OSHA are in Section 5 "Duties".
The requirements of the OSH Act are administered by the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (also known as OSHA). OSHA employs regional inspectors
that check whether workplaces are in compliance with the valid regulations.
The regulations of OSHA, relevant for safety at work, are described in OSHA 29
CFR 1910.xxx ("OSHA Regulations (29 CFR) PART 1910 Occupational Safety and
Health"). (CFR: Code of Federal Regulations.)
http://www.osha.gov
The application of standards is regulated in 29 CFR 1910.5 "Applicability of stan-
dards". The concept is similar to that used in Europe. Standards for specific pro-
ducts have priority over general standards if the relevant aspects are handled
there. When the standard is fulfilled, the employer can assume that he has fulfilled
the core requirements of the OSM Act regarding the aspects handled by the stan-
dards.
In conjunction with certain applications, OSHA specifies that all electrical equip-
ment and devices that are used to protect workers must be authorized by an
OSHA--certified, Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) for the specific
application.
In addition to the OSHA regulations, it is important that the current standards from
organizations such as NFPA and ANSI are carefully observed as well as the exten-
sive product liability legislation that exists in the US. Due to the product liability le-
gislation, it is in the interests of manufacturing and operating companies that they
carefully maintain the applicable regulations and are "forced" to fulfill the require-
ment to use state--of--the--art technology.
Third--party insurance companies generally demand that their customers fulfill the
applicable standards of the Standards Organizations. Initially, self--insured compa-
nies do not have this requirement, but, in the case of an accident, they must prove
that they have applied generally recognized safety principles.
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