October 2009

Bulletin Summary       The newly revised Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC will come into force on 29 December 2009 and will replace the current definitive Machinery Directive 98/37/EC without a transition period. Manufacturers that currently have EC type-examination certificates issued under the existing Directive need to be aware that the certificates will not be valid after this date. So, it is essential that companies start preparing for these changes. The revised Directive will impact companies whether they build machines or partly assembled machines, create final assembled machinery, or import machines for use in the European Economic Area. In addition, under the Machinery Directive a number of new standards have been published.

Key Changes between Directives 2006/42/EC and 98/37/EC

1. Essential health and safety requirements
    Among the significant changes:
          >The requirement relating to risk assessment has been made more explicit;

          >There are new requirements for risks associated with machinery serving fixed landings to take into account

            the extension of the Directive’s scope to apply to construction site hoists and slow-moving lifts;

          >Certain requirements currently applicable to mobile machinery or lifting machinery are now applicable to all

            machinery representing the risk concerned;

          >Requirements concerning noise and vibration emissions are made more precise.

2. The borderline between the Machinery Directive and other Directives

          >The borderline between the Machinery and the Low Voltage Directives is clarified. The distinction will no

            longer be made on the basis of the “main risk.” Chapter 5 of Article 1 excludes machinery where the risks are

            mainly of electrical origin, which is covered by the Low Voltage Directive.

3. Conformity assessment procedures

    The list of categories of machinery subject to particular conformity assessment procedures is set out in Annex IV;

    however, manufacturers of Annex IV machinery will have a wider choice of procedure:

          >For Annex IV machinery designed according to harmonized standards and covering all the relevant essential

            requirements, the manufacturer will be able to certify the conformity of the machinery himself.

          >For other Annex IV machinery, the manufacturer will be able to choose between EC type-examination by a

            Notified Body or approval by a Notified Body of its full quality assurance system.

New Standards Under Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC Published

The European Commission is issuing a mandate to CEN and CENELEC to develop the necessary new standards and ensure that the current standards are checked against Directive 2006/42/EC and adapted as necessary. Furthermore, all harmonized standards must include a reference to the new Directive. A first list of standards under 2006/42/EC has been officially issued in September with CEN (JOUE C214 of 8 September 2009).

For electric tools, the standards in Table 1 have been prepared and published to be harmonized under 2006/42/EC:

Click here and see page 2 to view: Table 1 – Standards Already Published Under 2006/42/EC and Date of Withdrawal

Note: The Commission intends to publish another list of harmonized standards supporting Directive 2006/42/EC before the Directive becomes applicable on 29 December 2009.

How Bureau Veritas Can Assist You?

In order to prepare for the application of Directive 2006/42/EC, companies must comply with the new Machinery Directive or risk having goods excluded from the European Community. All machinery and safety components within the scope of the Directive must be subjected to an appropriate conformity assessment procedure before they can be legally placed on the market. Each procedure will, at minimum, require you to:

          >Establish technical documentation demonstrating how the product satisfies the essential health and safety

            requirements;

          >Prepare and issue EC declaration of conformity according to Directive 2006/42/EC for products first placed

            on the market from 29 December 2009

          >Affix the CE marking

Bureau Veritas can provide technical guidance and assist with all of these procedures.

  

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please contact your customer service representative or:

Email: bvsales@uk.bureauveritas.com

 

Interested in Receiving all Bulletin Announcements? Subscribe Now

Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services, Ltd. (“BVCPS”) provides the information in this client bulletin as a resource of general information. It does not replace any applicable legal or regulatory requirements and is provided “as is.” BVCPS will not be liable for any indirect, special, punitive, consequential or other damages (including without limitation lost profits) of any kind in connection with this client bulletin. BVCPS DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, IN CONNECTION WITH THIS CLIENT BULLETIN.

Copyright © 2009 Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.