ISO 11148-5:2011 specifies safety requirements for hand-held non-electric power tools (hereinafter "rotary percussive drills") intended for making holes in hard materials, such as rock and concrete. The rotary percussive drills 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 11148-5:2011 is applicable to plug hole drills, rock drills and rotary hammers.

ISO 11148-5:2011 is not applicable to special requirements and modifications of rotary percussive drills for the purpose of mounting them in a fixture.

ISO 11148-5:2011 deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events relevant to rotary percussive drills 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 rotary percussive drills in potentially explosive atmospheres.