Last edit: 16/05/2026
If you work in machinery safety, you may have come across the term Whole Body Access and wondered what it means.
It is relatively new terminology and refers primarily to the risk that a person may enter and remain inside a safeguarded area without being detected. If the machine resumes its operating cycle, that person may be exposed to moving parts with high force and/or speed, with the risk of serious injury.
The expression may also be used to describe the possibility of a person entering an area with their whole body through an opening. However, the main focus is generally on the risk of a person being present inside the safeguarded area without detection.
There are two main risks associated with Whole Body Access:
– the possibility that a person may be unable to exit the protected area;
– the risk of unexpected start-up, where a person is inside the hazardous area and is struck by machine parts that start moving unexpectedly.
For the first aspect, the machine can be equipped with personal keys that operators remove before entering the safeguarded area. As long as these keys are not reinserted into the lock, the guard cannot be closed and, consequently, the operator cannot be trapped inside. An alternative solution is to equip the guard door with an internal escape-release device.
For the second aspect, the reset function can be implemented as a safety function, with the reset push-button or push-buttons positioned in locations from which the entire hazardous area of the machine is visible. To further reduce the risk, automatic personnel detection devices, such as laser scanners or safety radar systems, may also be installed.
The term Whole Body Access was originally used mainly within the ANSI B11 standards, in particular ANSI B11.0 and ANSI B11.19. It was introduced into ISO standards in 2024. More specifically, it has already been included in the new edition of ISO 14119 and is also expected to be included in ISO 11161, which is planned for publication by the end of 2016.
To further emphasize the importance of this concept, a decision was made at the end of 2021 to develop a dedicated Type B standard on Whole Body Access.
This standard will be published as ISO 12895 and is currently expected in 2027.