Standards
What is NR12: Safety in the Work of Machinery and Equipment
Understand what NR12 is, the safety rules for machinery and equipment, the required physical layout, and operational responsibilities.
By: Vitória Willemann
NR-12 is the Regulatory Standard whose main objective is to establish the minimum requirements for the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases in the design and use phases of machinery and equipment. The use phase is understood as the transport, assembly, installation, adjustment, operation, cleaning, maintenance, inspection, decommissioning, and dismantling of the machinery or equipment.
The Priority Order of Protection Measures
The employer must adopt protection measures for work on machinery and equipment capable of safeguarding the health and physical integrity of workers. The standard requires that these actions be strictly applied in the following order of priority:
- Collective protection measures: Involves the adoption of safety systems, characterized by fixed guards, movable guards, and interlocking devices that isolate hazard zones.
- Administrative or work organization measures: If the physical barrier is not sufficient, the company must adopt complementary procedures for safe operation.
- Individual protection measures: involves the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to deal with risks that could not be eliminated in the previous stages.
In addition, NR-12 highlights a fundamental technical rule: in applying any of these measures, the company must obligatorily consider the characteristics of the machinery and equipment, the process, the risk assessment, and the state of the art.
NR 12: Physical Layout and Space Organization
Safety begins even before the machine is turned on. In the installation locations of machinery and equipment, traffic areas must be properly demarcated and kept unobstructed.
The minimum distance between machines must safeguard the safety of workers during their operation, maintenance, adjustment, cleaning, and inspection, and allow the movement of body segments. The floor of the workplace must also be resistant to the loads to which they are subjected and must not pose risks of accidents.
NR 12: Emergency Stop Devices and Safe Systems
The danger zones of machinery and equipment must have safety systems, characterized by fixed guards, movable guards, and interlocking safety devices.
Machines must be equipped with one or more emergency stop devices, by means of which latent and existing danger situations can be avoided. These components must not be used as starting or triggering devices. For the environment to be proof against systemic failures, components related to safety systems and machine start and stop commands must guarantee the maintenance of the safe state of the machinery or equipment when fluctuations in the power level occur.
NR 12: Maintenance, Training, and the Role of the Worker
Maintenance, inspection, repairs, cleaning, adjustment, and other interventions that may be necessary must be performed by trained, qualified, or legally authorized professionals. These interventions must occur with the machinery and equipment stopped and with the adoption of isolation and discharge of all energy sources. Maintenance must also be recorded in a dedicated book, sheet, or computerized system.
In the daily routine, prevention depends heavily on the team. It is up to the workers to:
- Comply with all guidelines regarding safe procedures for operation, feeding, fueling, cleaning, maintenance, inspection, transport, decommissioning, dismantling, and disposal of machinery and equipment.
- Do not make any type of changes to mechanical guards or safety devices of machinery and equipment.
- Communicate their immediate superior if a guard or safety device is removed, damaged, or has lost its function.
- Participate in the training provided by the employer.
- Collaborate with the employer in the implementation of the provisions contained in this NR.
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