Last edit: 04/02/2026
Introduction
The primary purpose of this Standard is to provide designers with an overall framework and guidance during the development of a machinery that is safe for its intended use.
[EN ISO 12100: 2010 Introduction] The concept of Safety of a machinery considers the ability of a machine to perform its intended function(s) during its life cycle where risk has been adequately reduced.
This international Standard is a type-A standard. A type-A standard (basic safety standards) gives basic concept, principles for design and general aspects that can be applied to the machinery.
The today’s language in the standard is quite dated. The reason is that, when today’s edition (2010) was prepared, the language used was taken from:
- ISO 12100-1: 2003. Basic concepts, general principles for design – Part 1: Basic terminology, methodology
- ISO 12100-2: 2003. Basic concepts, general principles for design Part 2: Technical principles
- ISO 14121-1: 2007. Risk Assessment. Part 1: Principles
without significant changes. The standard is now under revision and should be published by the end of 2026.
The EN ISO 12100 specifies basic terminology, principles and a methodology for achieving safety in the design of a machinery. It specifies principles of risk assessment and risk reduction to help designers in achieving this objective, describing procedures that allows them to identify hazards and evaluate risks, and to eliminate hazards or give the provision of sufficient risk reduction.
There are two phases that have to be followed:
- Risk Assessment
- Risk Reduction
