Hi Lucille,

The legislative justifications are obviously incorrect as they predate the 2016 (current) act, however the guidance on guarding and good operation is generally pretty useful and accurate - The standards for machine guarding haven't changed radically.

Where caution has to be applied is when the machine you're using isn't an 'off the shelf' type or is being used in an a-typical or highly complex situation and guarding needs to accommodate for this. In these circumstances the WorkSafe GPG's become less helpful.

Hope this helps, and if you want to discuss further, happy to chat.

Matt is quite correct Lucille, WS hasn't released any up dated information yet, probably worth getting some copies of the standards that apply to machinery use/design etc (AS4024 series)

The guidelines have good info around guarding. Be advised that plant and structures is a focus area for worksafe and inadequate guarding will be treated seriously in an incident

True Robert, great pity that the regulator lacks the resources to update guidance information, but on the flip side, their lack of staff has also seen a steady decline in the number of prosecutions.

The guidelines are relevant to workshops of all sizes, and the flowcharts are detailed enough to provide instruction whether you are a designer. manufacturer, importer or user/maintainer.

The website also provides more specific information for certain types of machinery which do a great job of identifying the hazards and suggested controls (e.g. Circular Saw)

Obviously only you can provide detail on the environment in which the equipment will be used in.

Finally, MBIE are currently working on the next set of regulations that will fall out of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The next cab off the ranks will include machinery, although it is looking less likley that the 2022 date for delivery will be missed.

The Best Practice Guide is dated but will still serve your purposes in your situation. The go-to is the AS/NZS 4024 regs but they can be daunting to the newcomer, hence WorkSafe's publication of the BPG in 2014. There was some mutterings about an update but methinks WorkSafe is a little snowed under at present. I was on the BPG working group and now provide training on the implementation as well as auditing. Happy to chat if you need some more help.

Here's a link to one of Work Safe's latest prosecutions which has a bearing.
Company Fined $315K

Judge Crosbie said that the company engaged with an engineering company to modify the saw, but did not seek or obtain assistance from an appropriately qualified person or organisation.

"There was no guidance as to whether the modification met industry standards."

The WorkSafe investigation also found that the guarding and safety feature of the saw did not comply with their standards.

The company had argued the charge should be dismissed because a WorkSafe inspector had visited the factory on November 21, 2017, to look at the saw. The inspector didn't raise any concerns following the visit, instead noting in an email: "Machinery in place are guarded well which was my primary focus for the visit...."