Laser safety: a lever for industrial performance, far beyond compliance
In industry, laser safety is still all too often seen as a regulatory constraint likely to slow down operations. Yet when it is built in from the design stage of equipment and workstations, it becomes a genuine lever for reliability, production continuity and lasting performance.
Laser technologies today offer many opportunities to improve industrial performance. But implementing them also requires rigorous control of the associated risks.
For workshop managers, process engineers, designers and maintenance teams, the challenge is therefore not simply to comply with regulatory requirements. Above all, it is about designing working environments that enable efficient production while controlling the risks associated with laser processes.
At IREPA LASER, this approach is an integral part of how we support manufacturers: making equipment and users safe while preserving the efficiency and smooth running of operations.
A physical reality that demands rigorous risk control
The first difficulty of laser safety lies in the very physical properties of the radiation used in industry.
Wavelengths that are often completely invisible
Many high-power industrial lasers, including fibre, YAG and disc lasers, operate in the infrared, frequently around 1 030 to 1 080 nm.
At these wavelengths, the beam is invisible to the human eye. Ocular exposure can therefore cause irreversible retinal damage without the exposed person necessarily being aware of the danger at the time of exposure.
Risk control therefore cannot rely solely on visual perception of the beam: it requires an analysis of exposure conditions and suitable protective devices.
Reflections: a risk not to be underestimated
The risk is not limited to the beam emitted directly by the source.
When processing reflective materials, including most metals, specular reflections can retain a high power density. Depending on the conditions, a reflected beam can therefore pose a hazard to the eyes or skin, even at a distance from the point of impact.
This must be taken into account in the design of the installation, the choice of protective measures and the organisation of interventions.
Transient phases: particularly sensitive situations
A production machine can be designed and certified as Class 1 when it operates under normal conditions with its protective enclosure closed.
However, certain operations, such as maintenance, optical alignment or certain adjustment and troubleshooting phases, can lead to exposure to a Class 4 environment.
These transient situations are therefore a key aspect of prevention. They require suitable procedures, appropriate means of protection and an organisation that allows work to be carried out on equipment without compromising operator safety.
Laser risk is not limited to optical radiation
An effective safety approach must also take into account the risks generated by the process itself.
Fumes, dust and chemical risks
Ablation, cutting or certain laser treatments can generate submicron dust, nanoparticles or volatile organic compounds.
Controlling these emissions requires, in particular, correctly sized extraction at source, in order to limit the deterioration of air quality and operator exposure.
Fire: taking process parameters into account
The high concentration of energy at the focal point can also create a fire risk.
Controlling this risk involves, in particular, taking into account the process parameters, the use of assist gases and the possible presence of residues or combustible materials in the machining area.
Safety must therefore be considered as an overall approach, covering both the optical risk and the risks associated with the process and its environment.
Moving from imposed safety to integrated safety
When approached solely from a compliance perspective, safety can become an essentially reactive response: modifying equipment after a risk has been identified, stopping production during an intervention, adding protective measures or procedures in a hurry.
Conversely, building safety in from the design of the workstation or the choice of equipment makes it possible to pursue safety, ergonomics, repeatability and productivity at the same time.
| Reactive approach | Integrated approach |
| Systematic and potentially restrictive wearing of PPE in normal production | Optimal beam containment at source to allow smooth working |
| Unplanned stoppages and adjustments during optical set-up | Safe alignment procedures and controlled maintenance interventions |
| Safety treated as a constraint added to the process | Safety built in from the design of the workstation and equipment |
| Mainly corrective risk management | Anticipation of exposure situations and control of intervention conditions |
| Risk of non-compliance and legal consequences in the event of an accident | Traceability, risk control and better ownership by teams |
The aim is therefore not simply to 'add safety', but to design a production environment in which safety contributes directly to the robustness of the process.
An approach covering the entire life cycle of laser equipment
To support manufacturers in this transformation, IREPA LASER works at different stages of an item of equipment's life cycle: design, integration, commissioning, operation, maintenance and team upskilling.
Training teams to develop a genuine safety culture
Risk control starts first and foremost with the skills of the people working on the installations.
With LASER ACADEMY, IREPA LASER offers training courses tailored to the different levels of responsibility and exposure:
- Level 1 – General awareness, via e-learning or in person, for operators and staff working in an environment where laser radiation is contained most of the time. Exposure to Class 2 maximum;
- Level 2 – Person Exposed to Laser Risks, for technicians and operators working directly on or near Class 3R, 3B and 4 systems for maintenance, adjustment or process development;
- Level 3 – Laser Safety Officer, for people responsible for leading prevention on the ground, carrying out risk assessments and contributing to compliance management on site;
- Level 3+ – Competent Person in Laser Safety, to carry out an in-depth risk analysis, particularly regarding employee exposure, and to determine MPE/ELVs, laser classification and the choice of eye protection;
- Training in the design and manufacture of a laser machine, aimed in particular at designers, integrators and maintenance teams wishing to incorporate standards and regulatory requirements from the design stage of their equipment or machine.
IREPA LASER's Laser Academy is Qualiopi certified – for training activities – and courses are delivered by experts accredited by the Commission Nationale de Sécurité Optique et Laser (CoNSOL) of the fédération Photonics France.
Auditing and assessing risks on site
When equipment is already in operation, an independent assessment makes it possible to identify any gaps and obtain an objective view of the level of risk control.
IREPA LASER carries out compliance audits of laser equipment, focusing specifically on the regulatory and normative requirements relating to laser risk.
This approach may include:
- measurements at workstations to check employee exposure;
- the calculation of Nominal Ocular Hazard Distances;
- the calculation of Exposure Limit Values in accordance with the French Labour Code;
- assistance in updating the Single Occupational Risk Assessment Document (DUERP) to formally include optical risk.
The aim is to turn regulatory requirements into practical decision-making aids for industrial teams.
Building safety in from the design stage
Safety can also be considered upstream, during the design or integration of a new laser machine.
IREPA LASER therefore supports manufacturers on topics such as:
- project owner assistance and drafting of specifications;
- selection and sizing of optical protective devices, windows, eyewear and enclosure systems;
- taking regulatory and normative requirements into account when integrating a laser source into equipment;
- validation of elements relating to CE marking;
- optimisation of workstation ergonomics.
In particular, this approach makes it possible to define suitable adjustment and alignment procedures, reducing exposure during Class 4 interventions without impairing process repeatability or cycle times.
Safety as a component of industrial performance
For a manufacturer, safe equipment is above all equipment whose conditions of use, maintenance and intervention are under control.
A properly integrated safety approach can thus help to:
- reduce exposure situations and the risk of accidents;
- limit unplanned stoppages caused by poorly anticipated safety situations;
- make adjustment and maintenance operations more reliable;
- improve workstation ergonomics;
- facilitate equipment compliance and traceability;
- strengthen team skills;
- preserve human capital and production resources over the long term.
Safety then becomes an integral part of process performance, just like quality, productivity or repeatability.
Making safety an engineering discipline
Laser safety should therefore no longer be seen as an additional regulatory layer added on top of the industrial process.
It can be approached as a genuine engineering discipline, built in from the design stage and maintained throughout the life cycle of the equipment.
Physical barriers, interlocks, beam containment, effluent treatment, intervention procedures, risk assessment and team training: it is the combination of these different levers that makes it possible to build a production environment that is safe, reliable and high-performing.
For manufacturers already equipped with laser technologies, the challenge is therefore less about choosing between safety and performance than about designing their processes so that both advance together.
It is with this overall approach that IREPA LASER supports manufacturers: putting its expertise in laser technologies and their risks to work for more robust, better controlled and more sustainable processes.
