Overview of the Safety Standards for Machinery, Equipment and Tools: What They Cover and Whether They Apply to Food Machinery

What These Standards Are

The Safety Standards for Machinery, Equipment and Tools (機械設備器具安全標準) were established under Article 6, Paragraph 3, Article 7, Paragraph 2, and Article 8, Paragraph 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act; the current text found at the time of writing was last amended on May 11, 2022. They set minimum requirements for the construction, performance, and safety protection of machinery, equipment, or tools designated under the OSH Act.

Article 2 explains the scope:

1. Machinery, equipment, or tools specified in Article 12 of the Enforcement Rules of the OSH Act;
2. Items designated by the central competent authority for type verification under Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the OSH Act.

The construction, performance, and safety protection of this machinery must not be below the requirements of these standards.

What They Regulate

By chapter, the standards cover:

• Chapter 1: General Provisions
• Chapter 2: Power Presses and Shears: Safety guards, safety devices, mechanisms and devices, mechanical systems, hydraulic systems.
• Chapter 3: Hand-Fed Planers
• Chapter 4: Circular Saws for Woodworking
• Chapter 5: Powered Forklifts
• Chapter 6: Grinding Machines and Grinding Wheels
• Chapter 7: Equipment for Preventing Explosion and Electric Shock Hazards
• Chapter 8: Marking
• Chapter 9: Supplementary Provisions

The content consists mostly of specific construction requirements, such as how to install photoelectric safety devices on presses, the distance and timing for two-hand control safety devices, kickback prevention devices on circular saws, guards for grinding wheels, and the items that must be marked on products.

Accompanying Supervision

The Regulations for Supervision of Machinery, Equipment and Tools (機械設備器具監督管理辦法; the current text found at the time of writing was last amended on June 25, 2026, with the amendments effective July 1, 2026) govern the management of designated machinery after it reaches the market:

• Product supervision: Type verification bodies set implementation plans by risk level and carry out sampling tests and process supervision at production sites (Articles 5 to 8).
• Market inspection: Based on complaints, accidents, or other information, the central competent authority or labor inspection agencies may inspect distribution, production, warehousing, and workplaces (Articles 12 and 13).
• Production and sales data: For products that have completed registration or type verification, manufacturers or importers must keep production and sales data, including production dates, model specifications and quantities, shipping dates, buyers, and customer complaint and service records, for at least 10 years (Article 11).
• Nonconforming products: Products that fail inspection and can't be corrected must be returned, destroyed, or dismantled within 6 months of notification (Article 23).

Do They Relate to Food Machinery?

Direct application: At the time of writing, the designated list in Article 12 of the Enforcement Rules of the OSH Act doesn't include food processing machinery such as encrusting machines, dividers, or bun machines, so the construction requirements of these standards don't apply directly to food machinery (unless a separate designation notice is issued in the future).

Indirect relevance:

• Food plants often also own designated items, such as powered forklifts (for moving raw materials and finished products) and grinding machines (in the maintenance department), which must meet the standards and bear the safety mark.
• The protection concepts in the standards, such as guard opening sizes and distances, two-hand control, photoelectric sensing, and marking content, are a good reference when designing food machinery.
• On the user side, food machinery must still be fitted with guards, power cutoffs, and emergency brakes under Chapter 3, "Prevention of Machinery Accidents," of the Occupational Safety and Health Facilities Regulations; see Emergency Stops, Safety Interlocks, and Guards.

Internationally, the safety design of food machinery often refers to the EU Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and its harmonized standards; the EU's new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces that directive from January 20, 2027. Machines exported to Europe must undergo conformity assessment according to the importing side's rules.

For how to determine whether the TS mark is needed, see Does Food Machinery Need Type Verification or the TS Safety Mark?

FAQ

Q: What do the Safety Standards for Machinery, Equipment and Tools regulate?
A: The construction, performance, safety protection, and marking of machinery designated under the OSH Act (power presses and shears, hand-fed planers, woodworking circular saws, powered forklifts, grinding machines and wheels, explosion-proof electrical equipment, etc.).

Q: Do they relate to food machinery?
A: At the time of writing, food processing machinery isn't on the designated list, so they don't apply directly; but forklifts and grinding machines in the plant must comply, and the protection concepts in the standards are a reference for food machinery design.

Q: How long must production and sales data for designated machinery be kept?
A: Under Article 11 of the Regulations for Supervision of Machinery, Equipment and Tools, at least 10 years from the date of registration or type verification approval.

Q: When were these standards last amended?
A: At the time of writing, Taiwan's Laws & Regulations Database shows the last amendment date as May 11, 2022.