Occupational health and safety-compliant

OH&S-compliant Design seeks to ensure that people and their surroundings are protected against harmful influences. Today, a set of rules and standards stipulates basic requirements for the OH&S-compliant design of technical products, instructions for guards and enclosures and regulations from the statutory accident insurance and prevention institutions (in Germany) and technical inspection agencies. Local laws, such as the Equipment Safety Act (Gerätesicherheitsgesetz) in Germany, also apply.

Regulations must be observed as appropriate to the particular sector of industry and/or product in question.

However, design engineers also have a duty of responsibility that extends beyond these regulations. When designing systems, they must also factor in the potential for misinterpretation, lack of understanding and fatigue amongst users.