According to Safety Requirements for Gloves packging machine and Packaging-Related Converting Machinery, safe is “the state of being protected from recognized hazards likely to cause serious physical harm.” Unfortunately, there is no such thing as being absolutely safe (i.e. being entirely free of all conceivable risks), especially in the case of machinery, which will always possess present hazards. That being said, the operation of machinery, such as packaging machinery and packaging-related converting machinery used to produce food, beverage, and pharmaceutical products, is always a necessity. Therefore, the goal is not to eliminate all hazards but to mitigate them as much as possible in pursuit of a status that objectively can be deemed as safe. This is fulfilled through risk assessment and risk reduction for any group or individual affiliated with packaging machinery. Responsibility for risk management processes for packaging machinery is held by both the Packing Machine suppliers and the users, who must define and achieve acceptable risk. While their responsibilities do differ, since the supplier is tasked with the design, construction, and information for operation and maintenance of the machinery, and the user’s duty lies solely with operation and maintenance, each party involved uses the same risk assessment process.
