Before a machine goes to market, before it even leaves the shop floor, it needs to meet a set of safety standards that make it an effective addition to the packaging and processing machinery marketplace.

“Whether you’re shipping your machines domestically or overseas, your products need to meet the constantly changing industry standards and regulations,” said Maria Ferrante, vice president of education and workforce development, PMMI. “That’s why PMMI conducts its Safety Conference annually.”

PMMI’s Safety Conference (July 14-15; Chicago, Ill) is focused on updates and trends in the world of machine safety and supply chain issues. The 2011 edition of the conference will focus on new domestic and international standards for safety, and the new B155.1-2011 update. The conference will also feature a track on food safety.

Safety at Home

The ANSI/PMMI B155.1 standard, which defines safety in the domestic packaging and processing marketplace, has undergone its first major revision in five years. Fred Hayes, PMMI’s technical services director and a representative on the standards board, will present the updated standard.

“A lot has changed in the way packaging and processing machinery manufacturers and  end users  address safety since 2006,” Ferrante added. “The new standard takes into account the last five years of advances, and places a renewed emphasis on risk assessment, which is becoming increasingly important in the domestic and international marketplace.”

The conference will also feature a panel discussion addressing the complexities of deploying risk assessment on the plant floor. Experts from leading companies such as General Motors, Proctor & Gamble, General Mills and SC Johnson will share their experiences. Other topics to be covered include protecting your business in the event of an OSHA audit, packaging and the environment, safety of control systems and supply chain security.

Conference to Address Food Safety

In addition the ANSI B155.1-2011’s importance to the U.S. and Canadian packaging machinery marketplaces, the standard also makes great strides towards international harmonization, guiding domestic manufacturers towards compliance with global safety regulations.

“We recognize the importance of a global marketplace in the current manufacturing climate, which is why PMMI’s standards committee set the goal of creating one safety standard that would let manufacturers ship anywhere around the world,” Ferrante noted. “In addition to the ANSI/PMMI B155.1 updates, PMMI’s Safety Conference will address a range of standards and supply chain issues from around the world.”

Food safety has become a major concern in recent months, PMMI’s Safety Conference will feature a track dedicated to this important topic. Both the Global Food Safety Inititaive and the Food Safety Modernization Act will be addressed as well as what these regulations have changed food plant operations.

“Not only will PMMI’s Safety Conference bring attendees up to speed on the standards updates that affect the manufacturing world, it’ll address counterfeiting and CE compliance issues to get their machines into international markets,” Ferrante said.

For more information on PMMI’s Safety Conference, including a full agenda, and to register, visit PMMI.org.