This document specifies safety requirements and measures for their verification for the design and construction of portable, hand held, internal combustion engine driven, cut off machines intended to be used by a single operator in the cutting of construction materials, such as asphalt, concrete, stone and metal. It is applicable only to those machines designed purposely for use with a rotating, bonded abrasive and/or super abrasive (for example diamond) cut off wheel having a maximum outer diameter of 430 mm, centre mounted on and driven by a spindle shaft where the top of the wheel rotates away from the operator (see Figure 1). This document deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events significant to these machines when they are used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer. (See Annex F for a list of significant hazards). This document specifies methods for the elimination or reduction of hazards arising from their use, as well as the type of information on safe working practices to be provided with the machines. Cut off wheel specifications are not considered in this document. Cut off wheels shall comply to existing cut off wheel standards. NOTE For example see bibliography. All through the document, portable, hand held, internal combustion engine driven cut off machines are called cut off machines . This document is not applicable to machines manufactured before the date of its publication.