Machinery directive compliance seminars

29 March 2010

Sick has developed two one-day seminars to give managers, engineers, OEMs and end users the tools needed to comply with the new Machinery Directive. The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, which came into effect on 29th December 2009, provides the regulatory basis for the harmonisation of the essential health and safety requirements for machinery at EU level.

While the manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that new machinery is compliant with the directive, and certified by the CE mark, the directive isn’t limited to new machines. Any new process or system, such as a production line, is effectively classed as a new machine, even when using existing machinery, and the entire assembly must, as a whole, comply with the directive.

The seminars address common questions relating to the modification and upgrade of existing machinery. Attendees will learn how to establish at what point a modification should be classed as a new machine, and therefore requires a CE mark, and when a modification is subject to the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Directive.

Seb Strutt, Sick (UK) Safety Specialist, commented: “Safety should be a key priority for every organisation, and the new Machinery Directive is an ideal time for companies to remind themselves of the essence of the directive and to review their safety related standards.

“The directive ensures that machinery manufactured anywhere in the EU meets the same safety standards and can therefore be freely moved within the single market. This is particularly beneficial in the current economic climate, opening up a much wider market to machinery meeting these standards. Failure to comply with the directive can result in a fine and even imprisonment.

“Given the difficult economy, it is important to ensure that compliance is as straight forward and cost-effective as possible. At Sick we have over 50 years of experience and direct input into the key standards relating to safety systems, this has enabled us to create an imaginative and easy-to-understand, yet cost-effective approach to training on machinery safety.”

The two one-day seminars work equally well independently and when booked together. The first seminar gives a good grounding on the directive and safety related control standards BS EN ISO 13849-1. Participants will review the changes in the new directive, key considerations when modifying existing machines, safety control standards EN954 and get an introduction to the application of BS EN ISO 13849-1.

The second seminar will give attendees a thorough understanding in applying BS EN 13849-1. This seminar is a practical and informal approach to understanding and implementing the key elements of the latest safety related control standards.