Functional safety of machines – a weak point of Polish industry
What is functional safety of machines?
Standards and law – how does it work in practice?
How does functional safety work in practice?
Polish industry – why is functional safety still neglected?
Consequences of neglect?
How to change it?
What is functional safety of machines?
Functional safety of machinery is an area of technical safety that addresses ensuring that control systems behave safely even when errors, faults, or failures occur. This means designing automatic safeguards to operate predictably and prevent uncontrolled situations that threaten human health or equipment integrity. In practice, this involves risk assessment and implementing protective functions that activate when a dangerous condition is detected. Functional safety is therefore crucial for reducing risks during machine operation and ensuring the protection of people and the environment.
The ISO 13849 and IEC 62061 standards form the basis for functional safety standards in the machinery sector. ISO 13849 addresses the safety-related aspects of control systems, specifying general design principles and the assessment of such systems. IEC 62061, in turn, focuses on the functional safety of electrical, electronic, and programmable machine control systems. Both standards work together to assess and design the safety functions of machinery.
Standards and law - how it works in practice
The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC establishes a legal framework within which machines must be designed and supplied to minimize risks associated with their use. A manufacturer who designs and builds a machine in accordance with harmonized standards, such as ISO13849-1 or IEC62061, can assume compliance with the directive and affix the CE mark to the product.
The ISO13849-1 standard specifies how to design and integrate safety-related parts of control systems and how to determine the required safety levels (PLs) based on risk. This standard covers various technologies, including mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical machine control components.
The IEC62061 standard focuses on the design and validation of safety-related control systems (SCRs) and assigns them Safety Integrity Levels (SILs). SILs are a scale that describes how reliable a control system must be to achieve a specified level of risk reduction. The requirements of this standard apply primarily to electrical, electronic and programmable machine control systems.
How does functional safety work in practice?
Functional safety begins with a risk analysis, which identifies potential hazards associated with machine operation, assesses their probability and consequences, and then selects measures to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
Based on this, safety functions are defined—specific tasks that the machine’s controls must perform to prevent hazardous situations. Appropriate control systems are then selected that meet the requirements of ISO 13849-1 or IEC 62061 standards and implement these functions in compliance with the required PL or SIL.
Safety system validation is equally important. Proper validation verifies that all safety functions operate correctly under various scenarios—both under normal operating conditions and in emergency situations—in accordance with the standards. Testing also includes analyzing how the safety systems operate during machine start-up, stop-down, and restart.
Polish industry - why is functional safety still neglected?
Despite the obvious benefits of implementing functional safety, many Polish companies still do not prioritize this area. The problem stems from several, often overlapping, causes.
Lack of knowledge and competencies
Designing in accordance with ISO 13849 or IEC 62061 requires specialized knowledge in risk analysis, automation, and control systems. Many companies fail to invest in training or developing the competencies of their engineers. As a result, risk assessment and implementation of safety systems can be superficial or based on outdated solutions that provide no real protection.
Older Machinery
A significant portion of Polish plants use machinery that was built before the introduction of modern functional safety standards. Modernizing such machinery—including the installation of new control systems, diagnostics, and testing—requires significant financial outlays, which many businesses avoid. Failure to modernize means that machinery is not designed in accordance with current safety standards, leading to an increased risk of failure or accidents.
Cost Pressure and Management Culture
In a competitive environment, the pressure on costs and tight production deadlines often means that functional safety-related activities are often sidelined. Companies focus on efficiency and order fulfillment, treating safety investments as an additional expense. This short-term perspective can lead to situations where control system failures result in significant costs—both financial and reputational—because accidents, downtime, and machine damage are significantly more expensive than preventative measures.
Consequences of Negligence
When functional safety is ignored or implemented only in a formal manner, the risk of serious consequences increases. The lack of appropriate protective systems increases the likelihood of occupational accidents, equipment damage, and costly production downtime.
Furthermore, companies that do not meet functional standards may have difficulty documenting compliance with the Machinery Directive and obtaining the CE mark. Lack of such compliance may limit their ability to operate in the EU market, as safety requirements are one of the conditions for machinery to be marketed in the EU.
How to change it?
For Polish industry to improve its functional safety, systemic action is necessary. Companies must invest in developing the competencies of their engineers, implement systematic risk analysis at every stage of machine design and operation, and modernize outdated machinery in accordance with applicable standards.
Furthermore, risk and safety management must become a component of a long-term strategy, not merely a formal requirement upon machine acceptance or installation. This approach not only increases employee safety but also improves production efficiency and strengthens companies’ competitiveness in the market.
Functional safety of machinery is a key element of industrial safety and modern production. The ISO13849 and IEC62061 standards define requirements for the design and validation of control systems that minimize the risk of accidents and failures.
Polish industry still fails to fully implement these principles in many cases—due to a lack of competence, older machinery, and cost pressures. Neglect in this area has serious consequences for the safety and operations of enterprises. Changing this situation requires strategic action, investment in training, and system modernization—and is essential if the industry is to compete and protect people.
References
Functional safety — definition and importance of functional safety as a risk protection element, Wikipedia.
ISO 13849 — standards for machinery safety, classification and functions, Wikipedia.
What is IEC 62061? — description of the IEC62061 standard on the functional safety of machine control systems, The61508Association.
Functional safety — objectives and standards for machinery safety, WIKA Polska.
Functional safety EN ISO 13849‑1 (PL) — importance of ISO13849‑1 in the context of the Machinery Directive, Pfannenberg.
Standards for functional safety — update and status of IEC62061 and ISO13849, Pilz.
Component designs for functional safety — practical aspects of control system validation and testing, tek.info.pl.
