Overview
ISO 11553-2:2007 - Safety of machinery - Laser processing machines - Part 2: Safety requirements for hand-held laser processing devices - is an international type C standard that focuses on hazards, risk assessment and protective measures specific to hand-held or hand-operated laser processing equipment. Published in 2007 (corrected 2008), it complements ISO 11553-1 (general safety requirements) and is intended to prevent personal injury from laser radiation and associated hazards during manual laser processing.
Key topics and technical requirements
The standard addresses the lifecycle of hand-held laser devices and requires manufacturers to implement documented safety management steps:
- Hazard identification (Clause 4): lists inherent hazards (mechanical, electrical, thermal, vibration, radiation, materials/by-products, ergonomic) and external interference (environmental factors, power quality, electromagnetic interference, separation of device and source).
- Risk assessment (Clause 5.2): mandatory assessment for all life phases and after modifications; identification of danger zones including beam path, process zone and beam-delivery systems; results must be documented.
- Safety requirements and measures (Clause 5): integration of corrective measures by design and manufacture; manufacturer responsibility for complete device and associated components (supply units, disposal units).
- Protection against laser radiation (Clause 5.3.2): elimination of exposures exceeding Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) levels per IEC 60825-1 and IEC/TR 60825-14.
- Verification (Clause 6): conformance testing, control category classification and laser classification checks.
- User information and labelling (Clauses 7–8): required documentation, safety instructions and safety labels following ISO/IEC graphical symbol standards.
- Annexes: informative guidance (risk assessment examples, machine types) to support implementation.
Practical applications and target users
ISO 11553-2:2007 is practical for organizations that design, manufacture, supply, install or maintain hand-held laser processing devices and for those responsible for workplace laser safety:
- Manufacturers and OEMs - design safety into hand-held laser tools, supply units and capture/filtration systems.
- Safety engineers and compliance officers - perform hazard analysis, risk assessment and verification to meet machine safety obligations.
- Product certifiers and auditors - evaluate conformance with laser classification and control categories.
- End users and maintenance teams - implement operational procedures, labeling and user information to reduce injury risk.
Adoption of ISO 11553-2 supports compliance with related machine safety and laser product standards and helps mitigate laser radiation, material-byproduct and environmental hazards in manual laser processing applications.
Related standards
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