prEN IEC 60447:2026

• Status: Not Published
• Publication Date: 02-Mar-2028
• ICS: 29.020 - Electrical engineering in general
• Technical Committee: CLC/SR 3 - Information structures, documentation and graphical symbols
• Current Stage: 4020 - Enquiry circulated - Enquiry
• Start Date: 14-Aug-2026
• Due Date: 01-Oct-2025
• Completion Date: 14-Aug-2026
• Ref Project: oSIST prEN IEC 60447:2026 - Basic and safety principles for man-machine interface, marking and identification - Actuating principles

• Revises: EN 60447:2004 - Basic and safety principles for man-machine interface, marking and identification - Actuating principles
• Effective Date: 11-Jun-2024

Overview

prEN IEC 60447:2026 sets out the fundamental and safety-focused principles for the man-machine interface (HMI), with an emphasis on actuating principles, marking, and identification. Published by CLC and developed under the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), this standard aims to guide designers and engineers in selecting and arranging actuators for electrical equipment to ensure clear, reliable, and safe operation by users. It replaces previous editions with updated terminology, clarified requirements, and added emphasis on ergonomic and safety considerations.

The standard is intended for broad application across industries utilizing electrical equipment with human-machine interfaces, ranging from industrial machinery to computerized systems. Key objectives include increasing user safety, minimizing operator errors, and ensuring intuitive interaction with HMI actuators.

Key Topics

• General Actuating Principles: Outlines how manually operated actuators should be designed and arranged for both normal and emergency situations. Provides requirements for clarity, accessibility, and prevention of unintended operation.

• Actuator Functions and Effects: Guidance on correlating actuator movement (such as direction or position) to resulting machine effects (increase, decrease, stop, etc.), ensuring intuitive use.

• Identification and Marking: Discusses visual, acoustic, and tactile signals for distinguishing actuators, particularly those with safety-related functions. Cites the importance of unambiguous labeling, color coding, and standardized symbols.

• Ergonomic and Safety Considerations: Stresses the inclusion of ergonomic factors in design to accommodate varied user skills and minimize risk, aligning with international safety guidelines.

• Special Actuator Types: Includes provisions for push-pull buttons, foot-operated actuators, keyboards, levers, and function keys, as well as actuators on visual display units (touch screens, trackballs, etc.).

Applications

prEN IEC 60447:2026 is highly relevant to designers, engineers, and technical committees involved in the design, manufacture, and operation of electrical equipment where human input is required. Key application areas include:

• Industrial Automation: Ensuring operator controls on machinery and process control panels are logically arranged, marked, and safe to operate under all conditions.
• Consumer Electronics: Implementing intuitive and accessible controls on appliances and devices.
• Transport Systems: Providing standardized controls for vehicles, cranes, and other equipment requiring rapid or emergency actuation.
• Medical and Laboratory Equipment: Enabling safe and unambiguous operation, critical in time-sensitive and potentially hazardous environments.
• Centralized Control Rooms: Arranging multi-actuator panels for optimal usability and safety in large-scale process environments-such as energy, water treatment, and manufacturing plants.

By applying the principles in prEN IEC 60447:2026, organizations can enhance operational safety, reduce the risk of human error, and ensure compliance with international requirements for HMI actuator design and identification.

Related Standards

For effective implementation, prEN IEC 60447:2026 should be used alongside several related standards, including:

• IEC 60073: Basic and safety principles for man-machine interface, marking and identification – Coding principles for indicators and actuators.
• IEC Guide 104: Guidelines for the preparation of safety publications and use of basic safety publications.
• ISO/IEC Guide 51: Safety aspects-Guidelines for their inclusion in standards.
• ISO 9241 Series: Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals.
• ISO 11064 Series: Ergonomic design of control centres.

Together, these standards support the design of safe, accessible, and standardized interfaces across a wide range of electrical and electronic systems.

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Keywords: prEN IEC 60447:2026, actuator principles, man-machine interface, HMI, safety marking, actuator identification, operator controls, ergonomic standards, electrical equipment safety

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-oktober-2026
Osnovna in varnostna načela za vmesnik človek-stroj, označevanje in
identifikacija - Načela upravljanja
Basic and safety principles for man-machine interface, marking and identification -
Actuating principles
Grund- und Sicherheitsregeln für die Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstelle, Kennzeichnung -
Bedienungsgrundsätze
Principes fondamentaux et de sécurité pour l'interface homme-machine, le marquage et
l'identification - Principes de manoeuvre
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN IEC 60447:2026
ICS:
13.180 Ergonomija Ergonomics
29.020 Elektrotehnika na splošno Electrical engineering in
general
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

3/1786/CDV
COMMITTEE DRAFT FOR VOTE (CDV)
PROJECT NUMBER:
IEC 60447 ED4
DATE OF CIRCULATION: CLOSING DATE FOR VOTING:
2026-08-14 2026-11-06
SUPERSEDES DOCUMENTS:
3/1696/CD, 3/1779/CC
IEC TC 3 : DOCUMENTATION, GRAPHICAL SYMBOLS AND REPRESENTATIONS OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION
SECRETARIAT: SECRETARY:
Sweden Mr Mikael Törnkvist
OF INTEREST TO THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES: HORIZONTAL FUNCTION(S):
TC 2,TC 9,SC 17A,TC 18,TC 22,SC 22G,TC 23,SC TC 3 Horizontal Basic Safety
23B,SC 23E,SC 23J,TC 27,TC 31,SC 31M,SC 37A,TC
44,TC 61,SC 62A,TC 72,TC 76,TC 79,TC 80,TC 85,TC
96,TC 100,TC 116,TC 121,SC 121A,SC 121B
ASPECTS CONCERNED:
Safety
SUBMITTED FOR CENELEC PARALLEL VOTING NOT SUBMITTED FOR CENELEC PARALLEL VOTING
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clauses to be included should this proposal proceed. Recipients are reminded that the CDV stage is the final stage for
submitting ISC clauses. (SEE AC/22/2007 OR NEW GUIDANCE DOC).

TITLE:
Basic and safety principles for man-machine interface, marking and identification - Actuating principles

PROPOSED STABILITY DATE: 2032
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IEC CDV 60447 © IEC 2026
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 General requirements . 9
4.1 Basic principles . 9
4.2 Operating sequence . 10
5 Actions and effects . 12
5.1 General . 12
5.2 Actions to initiate opposite effects . 12
5.2.1 General . 12
5.2.2 Correlation according to the operating direction (movement) of an
actuator . 12
5.2.3 Correlations according to the relative location of actuators . 13
5.3 Stopping an effect . 13
5.4 HMI actuators for emergency stopping and emergency switching-of . 14
5.5 Actions to initiate only one effect . 14
6 Actuator identification requirements . 14
6.1 General . 14
6.2 Visual signal . 14
6.3 Acoustic signal . 14
6.4 Tactile signal . 15
7 Requirements for special kinds and particular use of actuators . 15
7.1 Single actuator for combined start/stop control . 15
7.2 Push-pull buttons . 15
7.3 Raise and lower with a lever . 16
7.4 Foot-operated actuators . 16
7.5 Numeric/alphanumeric keys . 16
7.6 Function keys . 16
7.7 Sensitive areas (actuators) on a visual display unit (VDU) . 17
Annex A (normative) Classification of, and correlation between, actions and their
resulting final effects . 18
Annex B (informative) Typical examples of monofunction actuators . 20
B.1 Kinds of actuators . 20
B.2 Rotation . 20
B.3 Linear motion . 20
Bibliography . 22

Figure 1 – Example of a three-step actuation sequence for mono-function application . 11
Figure 2 – Example of a three-step actuation sequence for multifunction application . 12
Figure 3 – STOP position as part of a moving actuator(example for a linear motion) . 13
Figure 4 – STOP push-button as part of a set of actuators . 13
Figure 5 – Push-pull buttons . 16
Figure 6 – Raise-lower with a horizontal mounted lever . 16
IEC CDV 60447 © IEC 2026
Table 1 – . 4
Table A.1 – Classification of actions . 18
Table A.2 – Classification of final effects . 18
Table B.1 – Examples of movement of some types of HMI actuators . 20

IEC CDV 60447 © IEC 2026
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
Basic and safety principles for man-machine interface, marking and
identification - Actuating principles

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for
standardization comprising all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees).
The object of IEC is to promote international co-operation on all questions concerning
standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and in addition to other
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2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as
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or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the
referenced publications is indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
IEC CDV 60447 © IEC 2026
9) IEC draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve
the use of (a) patent(s). IEC takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability
of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document,
IEC [had/had not] received notice of (a) patent(s), which may be required to implement this
document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest
information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at https://patents.iec.ch.
IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 60447 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 3:
Documentation, graphical symbols and technical representations of information. It is an
International Standard.
This fourth edition cancels and replaces the third edition published in 2004. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the
previous edition:
a) the title of the document has been modified to be gender neutral;
b) definition of terms has been updated;
c) definition of the term "information" is provided;
d) requirements based on out-dated technology has been removed;
e) wording improved to make requirements clearer.
It has the status of a basic safety publication in accordance with IEC Guide 104.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
Table 1 –
FDIS Report on voting
XX/XX/FDIS XX/XX/RVD
Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
the above table.
The language used for the development of this International Standard is English .
This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement, available
at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by IEC are
described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/publications.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under webstore.iec.ch in the data related to the
specific document. At this date, the document
will be
– reconfirmed,
– withdrawn, or
– revised.
IEC CDV 60447 © IEC 2026
INTRODUCTION
This basic safety publication is intended for use by technical committees in the preparation of
standards; it is not intended to be used on its own except in the absence of such standards.
Where no safety consideration is involved, the relevant technical committee may permit specific
exclusions within the framework of this basic safety publication, and according to the rules given
in IEC Guide 104 and ISO/IEC Guide 51.
Different kinds of actuators enable electrical equipment and processes to be operated
and maintained under normal and fault conditions.
In modern equipment, the moving of an actuator in a certain direction is only one method of
actuation. In addition, actuators or data input devices arranged in the form of function or
alphanumeric keyboards, or other kinds of actuator (e.g. light pen, touc h sensitive screen,
mouse), are in general use for computerized equipment.
Actuators as a part of the human-machine interface may have a different importance in the
dialogue between the operator and the equipment or machine.
Standardization is especially important where safety is concerned (e.g. where an incorrect
actuation may cause damage, or where a frequent or rapid actuation is necessary, such as in
the operation of cranes or transport vehicles), and is particularly necessary in the case of
equipment likely to be operated by unskilled persons.
Ergonomic aspects should also be taken into account.
IEC CDV 60447 © IEC 2026
1 Scope
This International Standard establishes general actuating principles for manually operated
actuators forming part of the human-machine interface associated with electrical equipment, in
order to:
– increase the safety (e.g. of persons, property, environment) through the safe operation
of the equipment;
– facilitate the proper and timely operation of the actuators.
These principles apply, not only for the operation of electrical equipment, machines,
or complete plant under normal conditions, but also under fault or emergency conditions.
This standard is for general application, from simple cases such as single actuators
(e.g. push-buttons) to multiple actuators, forming part of a large assembly of electrical and
non-electrical equipment, or part of a central process control station.
This standard establishes correlations between the function of an actuator and its direction of
actuating or location in relation to other actuators.
In the absence of particular rules, this standard can also be applied to actuators operated by a
part of the human body other than the hand (e.g. to foot-operated devices).
This BASIC SAFETY PUBLICATION focusing on SAFETY essential requirement is primarily
intended for use by technical committees in the preparation of SAFETY publications in
accordance with the principles laid down in IEC Guide 104 and ISO/IEC Guide 51.
One of the responsibilities of a technical committee is, wherever applicable, to make use of
basic safety publications in the preparation of its publications.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies.
For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any
amendments) applies.
IEC Guide 104, The preparation of safety publications and the use of basic safety publications
and group
safety publications
IEC 60073, Basic and safety principles for man-machine interface, marking and identification –
Coding
principles for indicators and actuators
ISO/IEC Guide 51, Safety aspects – Guidelines for their inclusion in standards
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
HMI actuator
part of the actuating system which is subject to a direct human intervention
IEC CDV 60447 © IEC 2026
Note 1 to entry: The actuator may take the form of a handle, knob, push-button, push-push button, push-pull button,
roller, plunger, mouse, light pen, keyboard (3.4), touch sensitive screen, voice actuator.
Note 2 to entry: The definition of an actuator is based on IEV 441‑15‑22 and, for
the purposes of this standard, is narrowed to human actuation.
[SOURCE: IEV 441-15-22, modified – The word "HMI" added to the term, the phrase "to which
an external actuating force is applied" is replaced by "which is subject to a direct human
intervention ", and more examples are added to Note 1 to entry.]
3.2
monofunction actuator
one or a set of actuators correlated to one final effect (e.g. by direction of
movement, or by disposition of actuators)
3.3
3.4
keyboard
device comprising a number of captioned keys, each of which can cause a discrete signal (3.12)
or an action when pressed or touched

Note 1 to entry: A keyboard (3.4) can be simulated on a screen area, where the virtual push-buttons are activated
by a pointing device.
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-171: 2019, 171-04-38, modified – "input device" replaced by "device".]
3.5
key
push-button or sensitive touchable area for activating the appropriate response
associated with the push-button or the sensible touchable area
3.6
numeric keys
keys representing numerals
3.7
alphanumeric keys
keys representing alphanumeric characters or function
3.8
function keys
HMI actuators located in a keyboard representing certain equipment, machines, functions or
commands
3.9
alphanumeric keyboard
keyboard (3.4) with arrangement of keys representing alphanumerical characters and functions
3.10
3.11
human-machine interface
HMI
system intended to enable a direct means of communication between a human and a process
or equipment, enabling the human to monitor and control the equipment or process
Note 1 to entry: Such parts may include manually operated actuators, indicators and
screens.
IEC CDV 60447 © IEC 2026
3.12
signal
physical phenomenon whose presence, absence, or variation is considered as representing
information (3.18)
Note 1 to entry: The physical phenomenon can be, for instance, an electromagnetic or acoustic wave, and variation
can be, for instance, that of an electric field, a voltage or a sound pressure.
Note 2 to entry: The information (3.18) is generally represented by one or more quantities, which are called the
"characteristics carrying information (3.18)".
Note 3 to entry: Specific definitions are given in IEV 351-41-17 and IEV 714-06-01 for use of the term "signal" in
the domains of control technology and signalling in telecommunication, respectively.
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-171: 2019, 171-01-03]
3.13
visual signal
information (3.18) conveyed by means of brightness, contrast, colour, shape, size or position
3.14
acoustic signal
information (3.18) conveyed by means of tone, frequency and intermittency, emanating from a
sound source
3.15
tactile signal
information (3.18) conveyed by means of vibration, force, surface roughness, contour or
position
3.16
computer screen
visual display terminal
screen
display
monitor
VDT
device that gives a visual representation of data
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-171: 2019, 171-04-39, modified – visual display terminal and VDT added
as synonyms and "output device" replaced by "device".]
3.17
XY-VDU controller
free moving actuator to select a specific area on a screen, which represents a certain equipment
or command
Note 1 to entry: This actuator may take the form of a joystick, mouse, track ball, light pen
or touch sensitive screen.
3.18
information
knowledge represented for communication, storage or processing
Note 1 to entry: Information may be represented for example, by signs, symbols, pictures or sounds.
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-181:-, 181-01-03]
IEC C
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