A Practical Guide to the Machinery Directive

It is now more than two years since the Machinery Directive became mandatory for all machinery supplied within the European economic area. During this period a large amount of experience has been developed in dealing with the many implementation issues of the Machinery Directive, as well as the effects on machinery manufacturers of other new approach directives, such as the EMC, Low Voltage, and Simple Pressure Vessel Directives. In this update, the original step-by-step approach to the Machinery Directive is revisited. Whilst the basic procedure remains the same, more information and explanation has been added to reflect some of our implementation experiences. The simple approach still remains central to meeting the requirements of the Machinery Directive. The approach has even been extended to include aspects of other new approach directives, a subject that will be included in a future update. Wilst this guide remains focused on the Machinery Directive, we have included the legal texts of other directives that are of importance to machinery manufacturers. This issue contains the integrated texts for both the simple Pressure Vessels and Construction Products Directives. We recommend that readers examine the scope of these two directive to determine whether or not to apply to their machinery, or parts of their machinery. In the next update we will be focusing on the developments in the harmonized standards in support of the Machinery Directive, particularly as a number of these have been generated and are awaiting the final stage of transposing into the national standards systems.

Table of Contents:
A guide to the guide; introduction and background to "A practical guide to the Machinery Directive"; authors. Part 1 A brief overview of the Machinery Directive: introduction; background to the European communities; European freedoms and restrictions; European legislation; the Machinery Directive, key definitions and type-examinations; the essence of the Machinery Directive; the implementation timetable; the Machinery Directive and CE marking; machinery for incorporation; used or second-hand machinery; responsibility for compliance; enforcement. Part 2 CE marking - step by step: introduction; determination of the applicability; meeting the essential requirements; application of the CE marking. Part 3 The Machinery Directive - related topics: risks assessment; risk reduction; standards; additional machinery technologies; documentation; electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and machinery; noise and vibration in terms of the Machinery Directive; the Machinery Directive and product liability. Part 4 Additional information: checks lists; forms; the law; list of useful addresses; standards, draft standards and working documents. Part 5 Standards.