🔧 EN 349:1993 – Safety of Machinery – Minimum Gaps to Avoid Crushing of Parts of the Human Body
EN 349:1993 is a harmonised European standard that specifies minimum safe gaps to prevent parts of the human body from being crushed between moving machine parts or between moving and fixed elements.
It provides design guidance based on human body dimensions to improve safety in machinery use.
📚 Scope and Purpose
The purpose of this standard is to reduce the risk of crushing injuries by defining minimum permissible distancesbetween moving components. These clearances are essential to prevent accidental entrapment of body parts.
EN 349 applies to machinery of all types where relative motion can cause crushing or trapping. However, it does not cover:
- Shearing or cutting hazards
- Risks from the ejection of materials
- Thermal or electrical hazards
✋ Human Body Parts Considered
The standard provides dimensional guidance to prevent entrapment of:
- Finger tips
- Fingers (to the second joint)
- Hands
- Arms
- Feet
- Legs
- Head
- The whole body
Minimum gaps are derived from anthropometric data and incorporate safety margins to cover a wide range of users.
📏 Representative Minimum Gaps (Selected Examples)
The following are typical minimum gaps recommended in EN 349:
- Finger tip – 4 mm
- Finger (up to second joint) – 6 mm
- Hand – 100 mm
- Arm – 120 mm
- Foot – 110 mm
- Leg – 180 mm
- Head – 230 mm
- Whole body – 550 mm
These values are intended to ensure that either:
- The gap is too small to allow entry of the body part, or
- The gap is large enough to prevent the body part from becoming trapped or crushed.
Always refer to the complete standard for full definitions and conditions.
🛠️ How to Apply EN 349
In the design of machinery, EN 349 should be followed as part of the safeguarding process:
- Identify areas where parts of the machine move together and could trap body parts.
- Measure the clearance or gap at the point of risk during all phases of operation.
- Check whether the gap is:
- Too small for access (e.g. <4 mm for finger tips), or
- Large enough to avoid trapping (e.g. >120 mm for arms).
- Modify the machine design or incorporate guards where necessary to meet these criteria.
🧪 Use in Risk Assessment
EN 349 should be integrated into a formal risk assessment, as required under EN ISO 12100. The minimum gap values assist in evaluating crushing hazards and determining suitable risk reduction measures.
🧩 Related Standards
EN 349 works in conjunction with several other safety standards:
- EN ISO 12100 – General principles for the design of safe machinery
- EN ISO 13857 – Safety distances based on reach dimensions
- EN ISO 14120 – Design and construction of guards
These should be used together in the development of compliant machinery.
✅ Compliance and CE Marking
Following EN 349 helps demonstrate conformity with the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. As a harmonised standard, it provides a presumption of conformity, simplifying the CE marking process and supporting a robust technical file.