Posted By Mark G Advice required We are currently obtaining quotes from various companies to have machine guards fitted to a variety of work equipment (lathes, milling machines, boring machines etc) to bring them up to PUWER standards. A couple of the Guarding companies have stated that their is now need to fit E-Stops if interlocking guards are fitted. Is this correct? Thanks for any advise offered Mark

Posted By Brian Hagyard Mark. I am guessing from your post but if the equipment you are using is for wood working have you looked at the HSE publication L114 Safe use of wood working machinery - Provision and Use of Work Equipment 1998 as applied to wood working machinery (you have to buy this at the moment but hopefully will soon be free on HSE site) or looked at HSE WSI series (go to HSE Books advanced search and in the series drop down click on WIS - gives you links into the woodworking Info Sheets. These may give you some further guidance. Regards Brian

Posted By Peter Still PUWER is not very precise on the need for e-stops. However the Machinery Directive, and hence the Supply of Machinery (safety) regulations, requires all machines to be fitted with one or more e-stops. BS EN 60204-1 also specifies one or more e-stops, at locations determined by a risk assessment. Please note that e-stops now need to comply with BS EN ISO 13850, which requires that they are trigger action, i.e. non-teasing. The fitting of interlocked guards might be considered to be a change of function, in which case the machine would be considered as a new machine and require CE marking and a Declaration of Conformity. Pete