ISO 14120-2015 PDF

Full title and description

Safety of machinery — Guards — General requirements for the design and construction of fixed and movable guards. This International Standard specifies general requirements for the design, construction and selection of guards that are provided primarily to protect persons from mechanical hazards associated with machinery.

Abstract

ISO 14120:2015 sets out essential principles and requirements for guards used on machinery, addressing mechanical hazards and other hazards that influence guard design. The document applies to fixed and movable guards for machines manufactured after publication and excludes interlocking devices (which are covered by ISO 14119). It also excludes specific requirements for mobile machine protection structures such as ROPS, FOPS and TOPS.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: November 2015.
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 13.110 — Safety of machinery.
• Edition / version: Edition 2 (ISO 14120:2015).
• Number of pages: 35 (official ISO publication).

Scope

ISO 14120:2015 applies to guards intended to protect persons from mechanical hazards of machinery manufactured after the date of publication. It defines requirements for design, construction, selection, attachment and maintenance of fixed and movable guards, and indicates other hazards that can influence guard design. The standard does not cover interlocking devices (see ISO 14119) nor special protective systems specific to mobile machinery such as rollover, falling-object or tip-over protective structures.

Key topics and requirements

• Fundamental design principles for guards: preventing access to hazardous zones, providing appropriate strength, stability and durability.
• Dimensions and openings: maximum permissible gaps, clearances and distances to prevent reach or entrapment (references to related gap/distance standards where applicable).
• Materials, corrosion resistance and resistance to wear for long-term safety.
• Mounting, locking and fastening methods to ensure guards remain secure under foreseeable use and foreseeable misuse.
• Provisions for inspection, maintenance and egress: safe access where required while maintaining protection.
• Marking, warnings and information to support safe use and maintenance.
• Statement of exclusions and interfaces: interlocking devices and their principles are handled in ISO 14119, and control-system responses in standards such as ISO 13849-1 / IEC 62061.

Typical use and users

ISO 14120 is used by machine designers and manufacturers when specifying and constructing guards, by safety engineers and risk assessors to evaluate guarding measures, by conformity assessment bodies and testing laboratories for compliance checks, and by procurement and maintenance teams to specify, install and preserve effective guarding throughout machine life cycles. It is also referenced by standards committees and regulatory bodies when aligning machine safety requirements.

Related standards

Key related standards include: ISO 14119 (interlocking devices associated with guards — principles for design and selection; latest edition 2024), ISO 12100 (general principles for design — risk assessment and risk reduction), ISO 13854 (minimum gaps to avoid crushing), ISO 13857 (safety distances to prevent access by limbs) and functional-safety standards such as ISO 13849-1 and IEC 62061 for control-system responses. These documents together form the normative framework for machine guarding and risk reduction.

Keywords

machine guarding, guards, safety of machinery, fixed guards, movable guards, mechanical hazards, risk reduction, ISO 14120, interlocking (ISO 14119), safety distances, minimum gaps.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 14120:2015 is an international standard that defines general requirements for the design and construction of fixed and movable guards used to protect people from mechanical hazards of machinery.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers design principles, dimensions/openings, materials, mounting, maintenance access, markings and related safety information for guards. It indicates other hazards that influence guard design but does not cover interlocking devices or certain mobile-machine protective structures.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Machine designers and manufacturers, safety and compliance engineers, testing and certification bodies, maintenance and procurement teams, and standards committees.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO 14120:2015 is the second edition published in November 2015 and replaced ISO 14120:2002. Users should verify whether a later revision has been published by ISO; related standards (e.g., ISO 14119) have been updated since 2015.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: It is part of the ISO machinery-safety family (ISO/TC 199) and is commonly used together with ISO 12100 (risk assessment and risk reduction), ISO 14119 (interlocking devices) and other ISO standards addressing safety distances and control-system safety.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Guarding, machine guards, fixed guard, movable guard, mechanical hazards, safety distances, minimum gaps, interlocking (ISO 14119), risk reduction.