The NoRA standards search facility has been extended with the addition of new functionality. Not only can users search, free of charge, for standards of relevance to occupational safety and health, they can now also search selectively for generic standards. In addition, they can ascertain under which European Directive a standard found by the search was mandated, and what standards are cited in it.

Requirements for product ergonomics set out in the relevant regulations continue to be inadequately addressed in design practice. One reason for this is the inadequate consideration given to the insights of human engineering in general, and ergonomics in particular, on degree courses in design. This deficit is to be corrected by ergonomics tuition modules recently produced within a KAN project.

Products which comply with harmonized European standards are also presumed to meet the requirements of the directives covered by the standards concerned. This "presumption of conformity" absolves the distributor of a product of the requirement for him to demonstrate its conformity. All parties involved are obliged to ensure for themselves at all times that the standards relevant to their purposes do in fact give rise to the presumption of conformity.

Electrical appliances often become very hot. Certain parts of products, such as hotplates or the underside of electric irons, must become hot in order for the appliance to fulfil its function. Other parts are not intentionally hot, and present a burn risk to users if they can be touched accidentally. A new CENELEC guide provides information on evaluating this risk.

As of March 2008, EUROSHNET, the European network for OSH experts, features three new fora. In the public area, users can discuss efficient arrangements for testing/certification and the role of scientifically sound knowledge in standardization. In the restricted area, a forum for drafting the Cracow Memorandum has been created in preparation for the conference on the subject of "Safer products for competitive workplaces".

One of the aims of the Machinery Directive is to reduce noise emissions from machines. In order for the essential requirements formulated for this purpose to be implemented, the European Commission has, since November 1998, sponsored the work of independent "CEN/CENELEC Noise Consultants". The Consultants' task is that of reviewing the quality of the provisions governing noise in European standards developed pursuant to the Machinery Directive.