Five years ago, when the CSA Z142-02 power-press standard was first published, it was a major improvement on its predecessor. More stringent requirements for controls and safety devices were established, and it offered the first attempt at harmonization with other standards at the time, such as ANSI B11.1, RIA 1506 and EN693. Afterward, both the CSA Z434 for industrial robots and robot systems and CSA Z432 for machinery safeguarding adopted these same requirements.

As part of the CSA Standard process, standards are always being reviewed. During the five-year review process, a technical committee was assembled to determine if the current edition was still relevant and to assess whether there were any new technologies that would necessitate amending the document. It was then decided the standard would be updated to recognize new issues and maintain the existing technical requirements.

One of the first issues the committee faced was a coroner’s inquest into the death of an employee in Kitchener, Ont., during the maintenance of a power press. The inquest’s recommendation was for the CSA Technical Committee on Power Press Operation to develop maintenance safety requirements for the proper and safe removal of hydraulic tie rod nuts, because if the pressure on these nuts is released incorrectly, maintenance personnel can be placed at risk — and in this particular case, the error caused the death of a worker. Therefore, an additional technical requirement was added to the new standard: anyone attempting to use hydraulic tie rod nuts to release a press must use the equipment and procedures laid out in the standard.

The second issue the committee dealt with was the introduction of servo or direct-drive presses. Servo presses have been in the metal-forming industry for more than 20 years, but it’s only in the past several years that they have become more common in North America. Not only that, but they are common today in a large portion of new presses being sold, in part because of their flexibility, accuracy and efficiency. Unfortunately, these types of presses use direct and servo-drive technology that is not fully covered in the existing standard. Unlike conventional presses, starting and stopping is directly controlled by the press controllers. There are no valve actuators, so there is a prescriptive requirement on the safety performance level of the controllers. There is also a new requirement for holding brakes to ensure the slide is locked in position when power is removed from the drive controller.

Additionally, the committee looked at laser AOPD guarding devices, which have been commonplace on European press brakes for years but have not been widely used in Canada until the past few years. These laser safeguarding-systems are very flexible and allow the operator to be more productive than light curtains allowed. Unfortunately, under the existing edition of Z142, laser systems are not acceptable primarily because of the safe-distance requirements. The advantages these devices offer operators, and their flexibility in complex forming, make it very important that they be included in order to help Canadians compete in the global marketplace. Not allowing them places Canadian manufacturers at a disadvantage. The challenge facing the technical committee was to keep the intent of the existing ISO Standards for these devices intact while adapting Z142 to meet the needs of Canadian stakeholders. In the end, the committee decided to allow the use of 10-mm-per-second “slow speed” from Europe’s prEN 12622:2006 hydraulic press-brake standard as an acceptable condition for overriding these particular safety devices.

In developing the new standard, Z142 needed to be harmonized with other standards. During this time, the United States’ ANSI B11.1 was also in development, so it was important to ensure consistency with our largest trading partner.

Some items that were added to harmonize with the ANSI B11.1 included the addition of slide-lock requirements and references to issues with large presses previously not addressed. Other changes included the removal of brake monitors as a requirement when not used with safeguarding devices to signal a stop and the removal of RF devices as acceptable electronic safeguarding devices.

A final task by the committee was to try harmonizing with other standards for control performance level. In the previous edition of Z142, the term “control reliable” replaced the previous term “fail safe” as a performance requirement for all safety circuits, devices and safety-related control functions. The committee looked toward the recent ISO 10218 standard for industrial robots for assistance. It was decided the new term would be “safety circuit performance level” and allowed for the use of other standards that have equivalent levels to control reliability. It was not the committee’s intention to increase the performance levels but to allow equipment from other countries to meet requirements in Canada.

The updated version of CSA Z142 has finished the public review stage. The technical committee will be reconvened after the public review period and all comments submitted from industry will be reviewed. Assuming no major issues ensue, the new edition should be published by the end of 2009.

Cory Newton is the president and owner of Tekpress Solutions Ltd., a company specializing in power-press and machine guarding. He is the chair of the Z142 Code for Power Press Operations, the vice-chair of the CSA Z432 Safeguarding of Machinery Standard and a technical committee member of the CSA Z434 Industrial Robots and Robot Systems Standard.

Every year, 7,500 workers are injured using machines. Furthermore, one in four workplace deaths involves machines. Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board notes that power press injuries often lead to the amputation of fingers, hands, arms or other disabling injuries.

If an injury involves a power press, it will be severe, warns Cory Newton, president of Tekpress Solutions Ltd. and chair of the CSA technical committee responsible for revisions to CSA Z142-02, Code for Power Press Operations. “Whether a power press starts at one tonne or 100 tonnes, getting a hand caught in it will always result in a critical injury,” he says.

Why these injuries happen
U.S. data shows that these injuries seldom are a result of equipment failure; in fact, less than one percent of power press injuries result from electrical control component failures. Instead, the most common causes include:

•    disabled safety devices
•    improper lockout before conducting maintenance
•    failure of die setup or repair personnel to return machine controls to the proper configuration

While these causes sound simple enough, safeguarding power press machines isn’t. Press operations can vary widely, notes Dennis R. Cloutier, co-chair of the ANSI B11.1 Safety Standard for Mechanical Power Presses committee. In an article for Fabricating and Metalworking magazine, Cloutier identified the following common variables:

•    size, speed and type of press used
•    size, thickness and kind of pieces to be worked
•    design and construction of dies; the required accuracy of the finished work
•    operator skill
•    length of run
•    method of feeding, including part and scrap removal

Devising safety procedures to accommodate these variations can be a challenge. Hence, the value of applying CSA’s updated power-press standard.

The current standard specifies requirements for the design, manufacture, installation, maintenance, operation and safeguarding of power presses. The revised standard will have a broader scope, notes CSA project manager Elizabeth Rankin. Among the changes to the 2010 version of the standard include requirements for:

•    Direct Drive and Servo Presses. “These presses started appearing in North America in 2000,” Newton explains. He believes the presses now represent 60 percent of new press sales.

•    Equipment, Procedures and Training for Safely Pressurizing Hydraulic Tie Rod Nuts. Guidance on how to safely pressurize hydraulic tie rod nuts, sometimes used a last resort to relieve a press stuck on bottom, was recommended by a coroner’s jury following an inquest probing the death of a worker who had been struck in the throat by a section of quick-connect hydraulic coupling he was unscrewing from the port of a hydraulic cylinder. Unknown to the worker, the internal check valve in the coupling had trapped 10,000 PSI of hydraulic pressure behind it. As the worker was unscrewing the coupling, it reached the point where the threads were unable to withstand the force, which transformed it into a high velocity projectile. Tests have since shown that pressure can build up to dangerous levels when the fittings are one turn or less from fully installed.

•    New Safety Devices. Injuries often occur when operators bypass safety devices that lack the flexibility required for many jobs. More flexible safety devices reduce the temptation of operators to bypass them, leading to improved safety.

Other changes include:

•    A 10-mm per second “slow speed” for use in conjunction with (and only with) laser AOPD guarding devices, adapted from Europe’s prEN12622:2006 hydraulic press-brake standard
•    Slide-lock requirements
•    Removal of brake monitors as a requirement when not used with safeguarding devices to signal a stop
•    Removal of radio frequency devices as acceptable electronic safeguarding devices
•    Replacement of the term “control reliable” with “safety circuit performance level,” to ensure compatibility with other standards with equivalent control reliability levels while maintaining the high standard of safety required in the current edition.

Newton attributes the existing standard with creating a safer working environment in many workplaces. “When the standard came out in 2002, there was a big push for training. A lot of workplaces responded, making sure that everybody in the plant has training and is comfortable using the machines,” he says. “The requirement for pre-start health and safety reviews (PSRs) has also made a difference, ensuring that guarding is done properly. In the pre-PSR days, adding guarding devices was often a piecemeal process, just adding an interlocked guard here or a light curtain there. PSRs have changed all that.”

However, Newton continues, he still encounters firms that are unaware of the standard, and of risks that could be avoided. “These firms are not meeting their obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” he says. “Besides putting workers at risk, they’re making themselves vulnerable to prosecution.”

How does your workplace stack up?
Safeguards, worker training, press maintenance, and inspections are all vital to power press prevention. For a quick assessment of your workplace’s prevention practices, ask yourself these questions, courtesy of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board:

1.    Is guarding in place and used properly?
2.    Is machinery in good repair and used properly?
3.    Are lockout procedures clear and understandable?
4.    Are workers and supervisors trained before work starts on machines?
5.    Are written job procedures available to, understood and followed by workers?
6.    Is required personal protective equipment in good repair and used properly?
7.    Are incidents and injuries investigated to find and eliminate the root causes?

How CSA can help
Z142-10 is expected to be published in March 2010.  But you can pre-order the standard today at www.shopcsa.ca/onlinestore/GetCatalogItemDetails.asp?mat=2020838. CSA and IAPA have developed a new course to educate participants about the changes in the standard. Click here for spring course dates and locations.

The changes in the power press standard are among the first in a series of changes to CSA machine safety standards that are intended to harmonize Canadian safety requirements with international standards.

Questions can be directed to Elizabeth Rankin at (416) 747-2011 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

CSA Standards announced Canada's adoption and availability of the ISO 31000 risk management standard. CAN/CSA ISO 31000 Risk Management - Principles and Guidelines is a national standard that provides principles, framework, and process for managing risk in a transparent, systematic and credible manner. ISO 31000 is not specific to any country, industry or sector and can be used by any public, private or community enterprise, association, group or individual.

"These principles and guidelines in ISO 31000 Risk Management serve as an overarching guide for organizations and individuals to help incorporate internationally-recognized best practices for identifying and managing risks across financial, strategic, and operational areas," says Doug Morton, director of Life Sciences & Business Management at CSA Standards. "The Canadian adoption of the ISO 31000 Risk Management standard will enable Canadian organizations to compare their practices with an internationally-recognized benchmark, providing them with sound principles for effective risk management."

Risk management is the identification, assessment and treatment of "risks" that may affect an organization, business or municipality, negatively, including those which can occur through accidents, disasters, natural causes, legal or financial liabilities or opportunities, or positively, such as new technologies, business ventures or continual improvement.

The standard will help users manage such risks though careful consideration and awareness of vulnerabilities and opportunities arising from potential and existing risk sources so that they can implement and continuously improve a risk management framework as an integral component of their organization's governance and management system. ISO 31000 can be integrated with other management systems such as ISO 14001 Environmental Management; Z1000 Occupational Health and Safety Management; the OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System Requirements; and Z1002 Occupational Health and Safety - Hazards and Risks - Identification, assessment, elimination and control (currently under development).

It can also be applied throughout the life of an organization, and to a wide range of activities, including strategies and decisions, operations, processes, functions, projects, products, services and assets.

Following approval by the Standards Council of Canada, the CAN/CSA ISO 31000 Risk Management - Principles and Guidelines standard is now being offered by CSA Standards as a National Standard of Canada.

This standard is not a certification standard. While providing principles and guidelines, it also enables organizations the flexibility to develop and implement risk management in a uniform way that also meets the needs of the organization and its stakeholders.

The CAN/CSA ISO 31000 is available for purchase in both English and French at www.shopcsa.ca.