ISO 11148-8:2011 specifies safety requirements for hand-held non-electric power tools (hereinafter "sanders and polishers") intended for polishing and sanding with all types of movement, e.g. rotary, orbital and reciprocating, using coated abrasive products, bonnets of various soft materials and endless belts. The sanders and polishers can be powered by compressed air, hydraulic fluid or internal combustion engines and are intended to be used by one operator and supported by the operator's hand or hands, with or without a suspension, e.g. a balancer.

ISO 11148-8:2011 is applicable to belt sanders, orbital sanders, polishers, random orbital sanders, rotary sanders and straight-line sanders.

ISO 11148-8:2011 is not applicable to special requirements and modifications of sanders and polishers for the purpose of mounting them in a fixture.

ISO 11148-8:2011 deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events relevant to sanders and polishers when they are used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer, with the exception of the use of sanders and polishers in potentially explosive atmospheres.