In this article I share an extended introduction and an essential summary of my presentation at the V International Congress Prevencionarheld in Madrid on September 24, 25 and 26, 2025, in which I presented the Integrated Machinery Safety Management System (IMSM) as an approach to improve safety in industrial environments.
If you want to access the complete intervention, you can watch the video on YouTube here:
👉 Intervention in Prevent 2025
Introduction: why we need to rethink industrial safety today
I am Joan Peronapartner of PRODEN Groupand for more than 20 years I have been helping companies to create safe and sustainable work environments. What I have learned in this time is clear:
In today’s industry, safety is not only ensured by correcting machines. It is ensured by correctly designing, planning and integrating the entire industrial environment.
Today we live with robots, AGVs, software, AI, autonomous systems and workers interacting continuously. In this context, continuing to think that safety depends only on “fixing a machine” is insufficient and risky.
That is why I advocate a preventive, cross-cutting approach aligned with the new European Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.
What are the current challenges in machine and industrial environment safety?
The reality I see on the shop floor almost every week shows that the problems come not only from technology, but from a lack of global vision. Some common examples:
- New machines with CE marking, but with entrapment or unsafe access.
- Integrations that turn the user into a manufacturer without the company being aware of it.
- Maintenance modifications that end up being substantial modifications.
Statements of incorporation that shift responsibilities to the end user
The environment is more complex than ever: people, robots, AGVs and software.
Today we are no longer talking about one or two isolated machines. We are talking about environments where:
- People coexist with autonomous vehicles, cobots and industrial robots.
- AI begins to influence machine operation.
- Cybersecurity is as important as physical security.
Safety must address the entire interaction, not just the individual operation of a machine.
What changes with the new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230?
The change from directive to regulation means that the rules apply directly throughout the EU, without long adaptation periods. This regulation introduces three key changes that I explain in the paper:
1. Software and AI are already part of the definition of machine 2.
The regulation explicitly recognizes that software can be a safety component, which implies new responsibilities and controls.
2. Cybersecurity becomes an essential requirement
Machines will also have to prove that they are secure against cyber-attacks.
This affects PLCs, industrial networks, wireless communications and control systems.
3. Further relevance of harmonized standards
Standards such as ISO 12100 or EN ISO 13849-1 are no longer “optional” in practice:
are increasingly required to demonstrate compliance.
The message is clear:
CE alone does not guarantee the actual safety of the installed machine.
Why do we need to move from a corrective mindset to a preventive mindset?
- Buy machine
- Install it
- Uncovering problems
- Correct
- Re-validate
This approach generates risks, cost overruns and wasted time.
I propose the opposite:
“Let’s evaluate earlier, design earlier, prevent earlier.”
Thanks to tools such as 3D design, layouts or P&IDs, we can assess risks before manufacturing and correct before the problem reaches the plant.
The evaluation of the human factor is essential
At PRODEN we analyze not only the machine, but also the:
- how to use it,
- who uses it,
- how it is maintained,
- how gender, ergonomics and work organization influence.
Many accidents do not occur because of technical failures but because of poorly planned human interactions.
What is the best approach to improving safety in industrial environments?
(The integral system explained in a simple way)
At PRODEN Group we work with an Integrated Machinery Safety Management System (IMSM), which ensures that allows us to guarantee compliance in all phases:
1. Purchasing phase
- Definition of user requirements
- Documentation required from supplier (risk assessment, PL calculations, etc.)
- Filtering of suppliers that do not accredit technical compliance
2. Design and preventive engineering
- Complete functional analysis
- Safety architectures (EN ISO 13849)
- Design of safe accesses, protections and interlocks
3. Conformance and validation
- Risk assessment according to ISO 12100
- Implementation of security measures
- Actual in-plant machine validation
Management of the environment and the human factor
- Internal circulation
- Actual work (operation, adjustments, maintenance)
- Procedures and training
5. Review and continuous improvement
- Change control
- Analysis of new technologies
- Periodic compliance review
Conclusion: the future of industrial safety is preventive, cross-cutting and standards-based.
My main message is simple:
Machine safety is not guaranteed with papers, but with design, validation, prevention and comprehensive management.
Applying a preventive approach allows:
- Reduce accidents
- Protecting people
- Avoiding legal liabilities
- Securing investments in AI, robotics and automation
And if you want to go deeper into each point with real examples, I invite you to watch the complete speech here:
🎥 F ull video of my presentation at Prevencionar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SiiVfgAEEI
I am convinced that if we align purchasing, engineering, maintenance and prevention in the same direction, we can build much safer and more sustainable industrial environments.
If you need support on this path, PRODEN Group will be happy to accompany you.
