The International Section on Machine and System Safety was founded in
1975 to deal with questions on occupational risks in this ?eld at the
inter- tional level. It is a member of the Special Commission on
Prevention of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). The
Special Commission is a body within ISSA that focuses on work-related
risks. It has 11 inter- tional Sections as members. ISSA was founded in
1927 with its headquarters in Geneva. It is working worldwide in over
150 countries with nearly 370 member institutions from all ?elds of
social security. TheSection on Machine and System Safety, when it was
founded, had its focus on machine safety, particularly on the ma-
facturing of safe machinery, on assisting developing countries to be
able to buy safe used machinery, and on delivering clear operating
instructions. Our members and partners are: - institutions for safety
and health at work; - insurance companies dealing with work-related
risks; - research institutions; and - various enterprises, e.g.
manufacturers, importers and users of machines and
systems/installations. We thus bring together the experiences of our
members and partners. The role of the operators soon grew in importance,
and their capability for ha- ling machinery became an important factor
for the safety and success of enterprises. The growing importance and
complexity of handling different man-machine-environment situations
created new challenges and led to - larging the Section's tasks to
machine and system safety.
