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EDWartens UK

Free course · Safety

Machine Safety: ISO 12100, ISO 13849 and SISTEMA

Do the whole machine safety job, not one vendor's part of it: an ISO 12100 risk assessment, guards and interlocks, light curtains with a checked safety distance, the required performance level, a category 3 or 4 design, MTTFd, DCavg and CCF, PL verification in the free SISTEMA tool, validation to ISO 13849-2, IEC 62061 compared, and the technical file the EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 expects from 20 January 2027.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Intermediate
Modules
14
Video
20 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Carry out an ISO 12100 risk assessment with machine limits, hazards, risk estimation and the three-step method; choose guards and interlocking devices to ISO 14120 and ISO 14119; calculate light-curtain safety distances to ISO 13855:2024; specify safety functions and determine PLr from the risk graph; choose a category and calculate MTTFd from B10d, DCavg and CCF; verify the PL in SISTEMA and read its report; choose stop categories and compare IEC 62061 with ISO 13849-1; plan and record validation to ISO 13849-2; apply safe drive functions and muting; and assemble the technical documentation and declaration that the EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 requires, with the US and UK routes compared.

  • Carry out an ISO 12100 risk assessment task by task and apply the three-step method in order
  • Choose fixed guards, interlocks and guard locking, and the ISO 14119 device type and coding level
  • Calculate light-curtain safety distances to ISO 13855:2024 from measured stopping times
  • Write safety functions and set PLr from the risk graph, with a reason for each choice
  • Choose a category and work out MTTFd from B10d, T10d, DCavg, CCF and the PL achieved
  • Model safety functions in the free SISTEMA tool and read and file its report
  • Choose stop categories and drive functions (STO, SS1, SLS) and compare IEC 62061 with ISO 13849-1
  • Validate to ISO 13849-2 and assemble the technical file for the EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230

Software

SISTEMA from the German IFA (free for commercial, teaching and private use, Windows) and a spreadsheet. Manufacturers' SISTEMA libraries are free downloads. No PLC or vendor safety software is needed.

Hardware

None. A Windows PC or a Windows virtual machine for SISTEMA.

Syllabus

14 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1Why machines injure people, and the laws and standards that govern them4 lessons
  2. 2ISO 12100 risk assessment: limits, hazards, risk estimation and the three-step method3 lessons
  3. 3Guards and interlocking devices: ISO 14120 and ISO 141192 lessonsLab
  4. 4Light curtains, scanners and mats: safety distance to ISO 138552 lessonsLab
  5. 5Safety functions, the safety requirements specification and PLr2 lessons
  6. 6ISO 13849-1 architectures: categories B, 1, 2, 3 and 42 lessons
  7. 7Reliability: MTTFd, B10d, DCavg, CCF and the PL achieved2 lessons
  8. 8SISTEMA: model a safety function, verify the PL and print the report2 lessons
  9. 9Emergency stop, stop categories and IEC 62061 compared2 lessonsLab
  10. 10Validation to ISO 13849-2: fault lists, tests and records1 lessonLab
  11. 11Safety controllers, safe drives and muting3 lessons
  12. 12The EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230, CE marking and the technical file1 lesson
  13. 13Outside Europe: the US, the UK and other regions1 lesson
  14. 14Final assessment1 lesson

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Prove on a robot cell that the gate, light curtain and E-stops stop the machine and need a reset, the checks that safety validation records.

Works alongside Machine Safety: ISO 12100, ISO 13849 and SISTEMA. The Lab is robot cell practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
Robot cell: Teach a robot arm.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for Machine Safety: ISO 12100, ISO 13849 and SISTEMA

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

Questions

About this course

Who is this machine safety course for?
Controls, electrical and mechanical design engineers at machine builders and system integrators, plant engineers who buy or modify machines, and maintenance engineers who change guarding. It teaches the whole job in a vendor-neutral way, from risk assessment to the technical file.
Is the course free to learn?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the worked problems, the project and the final assessment are free, and SISTEMA is free from the IFA for commercial, teaching and private use. The certificate is optional.
Does it teach ISO 13849-1:2023 or the 2015 edition?
The 2023 edition, which SISTEMA 3 follows: subsystems, the extended safety requirements specification, the new software clause and the revised way of judging P. The notes point out what changed from 2015, because many machines in service were designed to it.
Do I need SISTEMA or any vendor safety software?
SISTEMA, which runs on Windows (or a Windows virtual machine), and a spreadsheet. No safety PLC or vendor software is needed. Programming Siemens or Allen-Bradley safety controllers is covered by our separate vendor courses; this course gives the requirements those programs must meet.
Is it relevant outside Europe?
Yes. ISO 12100 and ISO 13849-1 are used worldwide, and a module compares the EU route with the US (OSHA, ANSI B11, NFPA 79), the UK, Canada and other regions. National laws such as Australia's WHS laws and Brazil's NR-12 set the employer's duties, and builders who export to Europe or the US design to the buyer's market rules.
How long does the course take?
About 20 hours of video, notes and practice at your own pace, of which about 13.5 hours is video. The optional assembly-cell project takes about 14 hours more.
Does this course make me able to CE-mark a machine or sign off safety?
No. It teaches the principles and structure of the standards and the law in its own words. Real machines are governed by the law where they are used, the current editions of the standards and a competent person's judgement.
What certificate do I get?
An EDWartens certificate of completion, issued when you finish the modules and pass the 15-question final at 60 percent, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not a TÜV functional safety or CMSE certification and is not affiliated with the IFA, ISO, IEC or Pilz; it covers knowledge that those programmes also expect.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module