Industrial safety specialist Fortress Interlocks has introduced an ATEX Certified, explosion protected safety switch key station. The CPS4STOPXP key station is designed to release keys which can be used to control mechanical door locks that provide access to machinery and process lines operating in potentially explosive environments. Both the switch and the door locks are suitable for use in zone 1 and 2 environments such as those found in the chemical and petrochemical,...

The Fortress Interlocks design team has worked closely with ABB to develop an interlock suitable for use on the SACE Emax circuit breaker. Fortress has considerable expertise in designing complex switchgear interlocking schemes and the Breaker Lock forms an essential part of a sequential interlocking system that ensures the safe operation of switchgear. This new lock is added to the existing range of switchgear interlocks. Fortress can supply...

8 December 2009: The EC Machinery Working group has agreed to extend the transition period for EN 954-1 . This final decision enables EN 954-1 to provide a presumption of conformity to the (new) Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, though there has been no announcement about for how long the transition period is being extended.

The objective of the European Commission is to decrease industrial accidents within the EU with 25% before the end of 2012. Local labor inspectors mainly target on machine safety as this is where most industrial accidents occur. Especially during (or short after) machine maintenance, accidents are more likely to happen, mainly caused by time pressure as to restart production.