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A conveyor is any powered system that moves loads via belts, chains, rollers, screws, or trays. Depending on the setup, it can account for 10-80% of operational capacity. While essential to material handling and logistics, conveyors are a frequent source of workplace injuries, some of them fatal when not properly safeguarded. As you can see in the examples below, conveyor belt safety is often neglected.
Why Compliance matters: Safety in the Manufacturing Industry
The Timaru Tragedy: A Preventable Death
In November 2022, 23-year-old Ethyn McTier was killed after becoming entrapped in a drive roller at a Timaru manufacturing site. The conveyor lacked proper conveyor belt safety guards along its length and at the point of entrapment. A WorkSafe investigation revealed that no risk assessment had been conducted, and multiple safety defects were present. Shockingly, the company had ignored a safety consultant’s recommendation to install guarding as far back as 2017.
Mt Maunganui Incident: A Pattern of Neglect
Another fatality occurred at a Ballance Agri-Nutrients facility in Mt Maunganui. Like the Timaru case, the conveyor was unguarded, and no effective isolation procedures were in place.
These New Zealand incidents prompted WorkSafe NZ to issue over $800,000 in penalties since mid-March 2023.
Western Australia: Salt Pit Conveyor Fatality
In June 2022, a worker at a North Coogee salt processing facility died after being caught in the mechanism of a salt pit conveyor. The guard was not in place at the time, and when installed, it was not securely fixed and could be removed without tools. Operators had been using cardboard to address belt slippage – an unsafe workaround known to management
NSW: Amputation from Unplanned Maintenance
A 30-year-old plant operator suffered an arm amputation while performing unplanned maintenance on a conveyor belt at an asphalt production facility. The conveyor was operating at the time, and the worker reached into a hazardous area without proper isolation.
As can be seen from these tragedies – conveyors are not only critical to operations but their safety is critical. Prioritising conveyor belt safety is essential to protecting workers and maintaining compliance. By implementing conveyor belt safety guards or using conveyor belt electrical safety devices, businesses can significantly reduce risks. Ensuring compliance with WorkSafe guidelines, applying strict lock out tag out procedures, and maintaining effective machine guarding are all critical steps to preventing accidents and creating safer workplaces. In this article we unpack the key standards that apply to conveyor belt safety so that you can ensure onsite safety for your team.
The Standards That Govern Conveyor Safety
The AS/NZS 4024.36XX series provides a structured framework for machinery safety on conveyors and some key insights of these standards are outlined below. Note we have not gone into detail for each – there is simply too much information. But given how ubiquitous they are in industrial settings and how specific the requirements are we definitely recommend that you have access to these relevant standards so you can review all of the requirements
It is important to note that recent changes to AS/NZS 4024.3612:2025 highlight that there could be some significant changes to this domain of standards and we encourage you to also monitor their status. TEG Risk will of course be doing this and hope to bring you updates as we discover them.
- AS/NZS 4024.3610.2015 – General requirements for all conveyors. This provides general requirements with more particular compliance points in the specific conveyor type standards below. It should be used in conjunction with conveyor Standards AS/NZS 4024.3611 and 3614.
- AS/NZS 4024.3611.2015 – Belt conveyors for bulk material handling. To be used in conjunction with 4024.3610 and applies to conveyors using a moving belt for conveying bulk materials (solid particulate materials such as ores, coal, grains, wood-chips, sand, gravel and stone in bulk form, mixed wastes). Potentially very high risk machines!
- AS/NZS 4024.3614.2015 – Mobile and transportable conveyors. To be used in conjunction with 4024.3610 and applies to mobile conveyors that are capable of being readily moved while in operation and to transportable conveyors that are designed to be periodically moved to a new location between periods of operation.
- AS/NZS 4024.3612.2025 – Chain conveyors and unit handling conveyors. In a rather seismic change – that indicates further change may be coming – this standard was fully decoupled from AS/NZS 4024.3610 and was made a direct adoption of EN 619:2022. This will be beneficial for those procuring conveyors from Europe and in some instances (emergency stop locations) it is likely easier to meet.
It applies to conveyors for moving unit loads continuously on a predefined route from the loading to the unloading points, possibly with varying speed or cyclically. Given some potential conflict/tension with AS/NZS 4024.3610 we recommend you confirm your conveyor explicitly meets the scope of this standard before selecting this over AS/NZS 4024.3610
Knowing which standard applies and when is essential for legal compliance and effective risk reduction.
AS/NZS 4024.3610 – General Requirements
This standard did form the backbone of conveyor safety in Australia and New Zealand (until the recent change to conveyor standard 3612). It outlines the essential principles for risk reduction across the entire lifecycle of a conveyor system – from design and installation to operation and maintenance.
It includes key requirements on safeguarding such as guards needing to extend 1000–1150 mm from hazards like pulley (not 850mm like AS/NZS 4024.1801 often indicates) and maintaining gaps ≤5 mm to prevent finger entrapment/draw in. Emergency stops (including pull wires) is a key area, where very specific requirements on the location are defined with one such onerous requirement being at the head, drive and tail end of each conveyor! Understandably – we see a lot of non-conformity to this technical point (but more on this later).
More so than many other European originating machine standards this standard also gives end user requirements such as energy isolation. With Lock Out Tag Out required before accessing any zone within or around a conveyor in which a person is exposed to unacceptable risk of injury or damage to health.
Maintenance practices are also prescribed with periodic inspection and test requirements for the following:
- All guards are in place, secure and in a fit for purpose condition
- All protective controls are functional and within design specification
- All emergency stop pull wires are functional and able to be pulled in both directions within specification
- Pre-start warnings are functional
- Undue accumulations of spillage or excessive rubbing of moving parts on the conveyor
- Unusual noises from parts of the conveyor system
- Access systems being in place, structurally sound and without impediments for use
- Warning signs being intact and readable
- Brakes, anti-runbacks and other retardation systems being functional.
This standard applies to all conveyor types and outlines general requirements. Whereas the standards below provide specific guidance tailored to particular conveyor systems.
AS/NZS 4024.3611 – Belt Conveyors for Bulk Handling
This standard builds on 3610 and focuses specifically on bulk materials handling (BMH) systems, such as those used for ores, coal, grains, and waste. Bulk materials handling (BMH) conveyors are among the highest-risk machines in industry, with well-documented fatal hazards. There is a whole annex detailing the serious risks – such as entrapment, uncontrolled energy, and maintenance-related injuries – that have led to multiple fatalities across Australia.
- Key Concepts:
- Hazard Identification: Includes high drive energies, belt deterioration, tramp material damage, and fire/explosion risks.
- Machine Guarding Requirements: All nip and shear points must be guarded unless protected by location. This includes pulleys, idlers, and transition zones.
- Pull Wire Layouts: Pull wires must extend the full length of conveyors with removable guards and be installed near accessible danger points.
- Operability and Maintainability: Systems should allow inspection and maintenance without removing guards. Walkway access is recommended on both sides.
- Plant Safety File: Must include belt profiles, tension data, drive power, and functional safety parameters.
- Special Considerations:
- Carry and return idlers may be exempt from guarding if risk is demonstrably low and alternative controls are in place.
- Emergency stop systems must be designed for long stopping times typical of BMH conveyors.
This standard is essential for industries dealing with high-volume, high-risk material transport.
- Specific considerations for operability & maintainability:
- All BMH belt conveyors should have walkway access along at least one side and to other areas requiring inspection or maintenance that may be accessed frequently.
- As far as reasonably practicable, the conveyor system shall be designed so that it does not require the removal of guards to carry out routine inspection and maintenance activities.
AS/NZS 4024.3614 – Mobile and Transportable Conveyors
This standard addresses conveyors that are moved between sites or repositioned during operation and critical for industries using portable equipment such as construction, mining, and agriculture and conveyors such as luffing conveyors.
It’s relatively short for a machine safety standard and relies on conveyor standard 3610 for many requirements – however it does expand to cover the following specific control requirements
- Specific control requirements:
- Raising and lowering system controls shall be located so their operation is clear of the underneath of the conveyor.
- Controls for luffing, slewing, extending and on-site travelling shall automatically return to the off or neutral position when released, i.e. ‘hold-to-run’
- Any control position should provide the operator with visual contact with moving elements and extending structure movements.
- Must accommodate cleated belts and stockpile height changes.
AS/NZS 4024.3612 – Chain and Unit Handling Conveyors
Undoubtedly the big change and specificity has been introduced with the new stand alone standard AS/NZS 4024.3612 – Chain and Unit Handling Conveyors
- This standard applies to conveyors used for unit loads such as packages, totes, and baggage – not bulk materials and includes belt conveyors, roller conveyors (belt or chain driven), slat, tote, telescopic, loop sorters and baggage carousels going from 65-170 pages.
This additional content brings in a large amount of additional information including pictures and diagrams with new and specific requirements that deviate from the old version. This wider variety of diagrams also provides a greater degree of information and guidance on how to safeguard different hazards which is helpful.
One of the most significant changes we see is around Emergency Stops (E Stops). Especially where E Stops were previously required at each head, tail and drive end – amongst other locations. Requirements are now
- The distance between the emergency stop and any location within the working place shall not exceed 5 m and for working places in straight assembly lines the distance shall not exceed 10 m.
- Emergency stops are now also not required in areas where the lowest point of the conveyor is min 2.5 m above walking floor.
- The minimum height of an emergency stop device from floor level shall be 0.6 m and the maximum height shall be 1.9 m.
- Exceptions:
- conveyors with the height lower than 0.6 m
- baggage (reclaim) carrousels
For many organisations we can see this will reduce complexity and cost. Assuming good nip point guarding this in place – which the standard assumes – we don’t feel there is a significant reduction in risk level of sites.
In addition to the above – there are also specific considerations for protection against moving parts with reduced approach speeds in certain circumstances, reach distance clarification and changes to fencing heights and openings.
This standard brings reasonably significant changes to this scope conveyors for the handling of discrete items in logistics, manufacturing, and airport environments. If you routinely have to build these sorts of conveyors or have a significant portfolio of these machines in your organisation we definitely recommend you grab a copy of this new standard.
Final Thoughts: Safety Is a Design Choice
Whether you’re designing a fixed system for bulk handling or deploying mobile conveyors in the field, understanding and applying the correct standard is essential. By applying the AS/NZS 4024 standards, conducting thorough machine guarding risk assessments, and implementing layered safeguards (including lock out tag out training for employees), you can transform your conveyor systems into systems that not only deliver operationally but also from a safety standpoint.
If you’re unsure where to start, consult a qualified safety expert. The cost of prevention is always lower than the cost of tragedy.