ISO 12100 is the foundational international standard for the safety of machinery, setting out general principles for design, risk assessment and risk reduction. It defines a structured methodology in which designers identify hazards, estimate and evaluate risk, then apply inherently safe design, safeguarding and information-for-use in a defined order of priority. As a Type-A standard it provides the overarching framework that more specific Type-B and Type-C machinery standards build upon.
Overview
- The standard merges earlier safety-of-machinery documents into a single coherent framework.
- It mandates an iterative loop of hazard identification, risk estimation, risk evaluation and risk reduction.
- Risk reduction follows a strict hierarchy: inherently safe design first, then safeguarding, then information for use.
- It is harmonised under European machinery directives, making compliance a route to market access.
Mechanisms
- Hazard identification enumerates mechanical, electrical, thermal, ergonomic and other sources of harm.
- Risk estimation combines severity of harm with probability of occurrence and exposure.
- The three-step risk reduction method prioritises eliminating hazards over mitigating them.
- Validation confirms that residual risk is acceptable and that protective measures function as intended.
Applications
- Design of Industrial Robot cells and automated production equipment.
- Conformity assessment supporting CE Marking of machinery placed on the market.
- Integration with Functional Safety standards governing safety-related control systems.
- Reference framework for collaborative and service robot standards such as ISO 13482.