Mechanical Engineering
Machinery
The machinery sector is an important part of the engineering industry. Machinery consists of an assembly of components, at least one of which moves, joined together for a specific application. The drive system of machinery is powered by energy other than human or animal effort.
Legislation
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One of the main legislations governing the harmonisation of essential health and safety requirements for machinery at EU level is the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.
The directive:
As it is a 'new approach' directive, it promotes harmonisation through a combination of mandatory health and safety requirements and voluntary harmonised standards. The machinery directive only applies to products that are to be placed on the EU market for the first time. The machinery Directive 2006/42/EC was published on 9 June 2006 and became applicable on 29 December 2009. Guides |
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- Edition 2.2 (update of the 2nd edition) of the guide to application of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC) was endorsed by the machinery committee and issued in October 2019
- Application guide: ergonomic health and safety requirements
- This document provides guidance on the application of the essential health and safety requirements relating to ergonomics in section 1.1.6 of annex I to the machinery directive and the corresponding harmonised standards.
Revision of the Machinery Directive
The Machinery Directive is the core European legislation regulating products of the mechanical engineering industries. The staff working document, SWD(2018)160, details the conclusion of the Machinery Directive's performance evaluation.
The evaluation shows that the directive is relatively flexible to technological developments in the digital era, thanks to its 'new approach' underpinnings. Furthermore, it is generally relevant, effective, efficient, coherent and has EU added value.
However, some of its provisions require better legal clarity and improved coherence with other legislation. Several administrative requirements that affect the Directive's efficiency could also use simplification. Finally, the evaluation indicates that the directive's effectiveness has been affected by shortcomings in monitoring and enforcement. The revision process is currently ongoing.
The evaluation shows that the directive is relatively flexible to technological developments in the digital era, thanks to its 'new approach' underpinnings. Furthermore, it is generally relevant, effective, efficient, coherent and has EU added value.
However, some of its provisions require better legal clarity and improved coherence with other legislation. Several administrative requirements that affect the Directive's efficiency could also use simplification. Finally, the evaluation indicates that the directive's effectiveness has been affected by shortcomings in monitoring and enforcement. The revision process is currently ongoing.
Notified bodies
- Bodies notified under Directive 2006/42/EC: Machinery in the NANDO information system (new approach notified and designated organisations)
- European coordination of notified bodies - Technical secretariat of notified bodies for machinery
Recommendation on RfU
The following 'recommendation for use' sheets reflect the common position of the notified bodies in the machinery sector. They have been endorsed by the machinery working group. Their purpose is to assist notified bodies in their tasks of conformity assessment of machinery, mainly for the EC type-examination procedure, in accordance with the terms of the machinery directive.
All stakeholders involved in the implementation of the directive should be aware of the existence of this information:
All stakeholders involved in the implementation of the directive should be aware of the existence of this information:
- Horizontal RfU sheets are prefixed by 00 and apply to all types of machinery listed in annex IV of the machinery directive
- Vertical RfU sheets apply more specifically to a particular category of machinery listed in annex IV, e.g. sheets prefixed by 01 deal with woodworking machinery. They are issued by vertical group No 1 of the coordination of notified bodies