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Machinery Directive - 98/37/EC *
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Subject Area |
The Directive applies to all items of equipment which are covered as shown
below. In essence this usually means mechanical equipment either for workplace
or domestic use where the major risk to safety is deemed to be mechanical. In
all cases relevant provisions of other EC Directives where these are appropriate
must be taken into account in order to achieve full compliance with the
Directive.
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Intention of
Legislation |
To assist industry by reducing barriers to trade
within the Single Market by ensuring a common policy of safety and supply of
machinery across the European Economic Area (EEA).
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| Coverage |
Essentially all machines which have at least one
moving part, assemblies such as those in bottling or car assembly plants,
interchangeable equipment which can modify the function of a machine, and safety
components. There is a strong emphasis on safety and some products which are
perceived to have a higher than normal safety risk to the operator require third
party testing carried out by an appointed Notified Body which will have been
assessed for its technical competence to carry out this work unless they have
been manufactured in accordance with transposed harmonised standards. Such items
are identified in Annex IV of the Directive. Should a manufacturer of a product
in this category declare conformity with the Directive by using these standards,
he may lodge a copy of his Technical File with a Notified Body of his choice, or
have the application of those standards verified by reference to the File by the
Notified Body.
The Directive does not draw a distinction between machines used in the
workplace and those intended for domestic use. Specific exemptions are shown in
Schedule 5 of the UK Regulations.
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| Current Position |
This Directive is fully implemented into UK law by
means of the Supply of Machinery (Safety)
Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/3073) as amended by The Supply of Machinery Safety)
(Amendment) Regulations 1994 ( SI 1994/2063), and the
Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations
2005 (SI 2005/831). All transitional periods have now expired and all new
machinery introduced into the EEA must now comply with this Directive. No action
is required in respect of existing machinery supplied to the market which
predates this Directive and UK Regulations.
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| Penalties Review |
In December 2001 the DTI issued a consultation
document regarding its proposal to amend the Pressure Equipment Regulations. The
consultation document also made proposals to amend certain other safety-related
regulations, including the Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992 (as amended) in
respect of their penalty provisions. Proposals are currently being considered as
to how the outcome of this review should be applied to the Machinery Directive.
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| Current Problems |
Overlap between the Machinery Directive and the
Low Voltage Directive Consideration as to how the
provisions of EMC should be applied to Machinery within
the scope of this Directive
Lack of transposed harmonised standards to support the Directive.
The scope of the Directive is not entirely clear and, therefore, the
definition of "machinery" needs to be refined.
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| Future Work |
The European Commission tabled a Draft Proposal to
amend this Directive to the European Council and Parliament in January 2001
following discussion within an informal Commission Working Group. At present, it
appears that this amendment will not take effect until 2006. In the interim,
matters of interpretation between Member States continue to be discussed within
the working group set up under Article 6.2 of this Directive which is chaired by
the European Commission.
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| Guidance |
A comprehensive DTI Guidance
booklet is available. To help machine
designers to have a better overview of product safety and performance
legislation of European Union origin relating to machinery, the Department is
now publishing "Integrated Product Standards
Guidance for machinery designers". This is an attempt to link our own
guidance documentation and other useful material together through a summary and
hypertext links prepared on our behalf by Mr Paul Makin, the former CEN
Consultant for Machinery Safety, after consultation with industry and other
interested parties.
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| Contacts |
Peter Baxter-Ludlow / Graham Payne, Department of
Trade and Industry, STRD5, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS Tel:
020 7215 1453 / 0923 Fax: 020 7215 1529
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* previously Directive 89/392/EEC as amended by Directives
91/386/EEC and 93/68/EEC. The original Directive and its amendments have been
consolidated in the single Directive 98/37/EC
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