New safety standard for plastic sheet and film machinery

The Machinery Safety Standards Committee of the U.S.-based Plastics Industry has released a new American National Standards Institute-accredited safety standard for plastic sheet and film machinery.

Available for sale, “ANSI/PLASTICS B151.5-2020, Safety Requirements for Plastic Film and Sheet Winding and Unwinding Machinery” sets the latest industry standards for plastic film and sheet winding, slitter rewinding, and unwinding machinery.

“Our ANSI Standards Program ensures this standard will minimize hazards to personnel by establishing safety requirements for the manufacture, care and use of these machines,” said association president and CEO Tony Radoszewski,

The ANSI/PLASTICS B151.5-2020 has an expanded scope, additional definitions, and performance levels. Forty-six members representing all aspects of the plastics industry participated in its creation. “The wide variety and sizes of plastic film and sheet winding machines complicates any standard detailing their safety requirements,” said Jennifer Jones, the association’s director of industry standards.  

 “Combinations of parts, production methods and operating conditions in our industry are virtually infinite,” she added. “[We] addressed the situation in our updated standard by establishing a methodology to pinpoint important areas: eliminating common hazards; establishing standard designs for competitors with similar manufacturing operations; safeguarding machines with uncommon designs for technical or operational reasons; and warnings in instances where the total elimination of hazards may not be technically or operationally feasible.”

 The document is available for purchase at:

access.plasticsindustry.org/PLASTICS/Store/Store_Home.aspx or www.ansi.org.