Machine Safety
Founder Zac Harder’s perspective on machine safety was shaped by his father’s experience with a life-altering farm accident. Witnessing the challenges of adapting to such an injury instilled a deep, personal respect for safety that has informed Zac’s work for over 16 years
With over 16 years of expertise, our milestones include:
- Developing global Machine Guarding guidelines.
- Authoring corporate Machine Safety Standards.
- Inventing stability standards and calculators for portable equipment.
- Creating comprehensive Sanitary Design food safety protocols.
- Leading international incident investigations and safety training.
- Serving as a qualified Risk Assessment facilitator.
- Earning TUV Rheinland certification as a Functional Machine Safety Engineer.
We prioritize safety in every machine we design, build, or consult on. Our safety process ensures that everyone can interact with our equipment safely by pursuing the following steps: Risk Assessment, Requirements Specification, System Design, and Validation.
Risk Assessment
We begin with a Task-Based Risk Assessment to identify hazards and evaluate human interaction. By collaborating with your team, we pinpoint high-risk areas, ensuring our safety efforts are focused exactly where they are needed most.
Requirements
Using the Risk Assessment, we define electrical, mechanical, and administrative requirements to mitigate hazards. This serves as the basis for designing the system.
Safety System
Design
Using the Safety Requirements Specification, we design safety into every machine following OSHA and ISO standards. Before fabrication, every design undergoes a rigorous verification process to ensure compliance and risk mitigation from the start.
Fabrication
Following our normal Design/Build process, we’ll fabricate what is necessary, purchase the electrical components, contract with Controls Engineers to implement the logic, and can even assist onsite with installation and checkout.
Validation
Once operational, we validate the safety system by testing physical components and ensuring the final build aligns with the SRS. This final review confirms that all security requirements are fully met and functioning as intended.