KAN took the revision of the Machinery Directive as an opportunity to hold a European conference in Munich on 27/28 May, in conjunction with the DGUV. Delegates from the European Commission, the market surveillance authorities and associations representing the European social partners presented papers outlining their expectations of implementation of the revised directive. Legal experts also spoke on liability issues arising during the drafting and application of standards.

One component of the European conference held by KAN and the DGUV on the new Machinery Directive was a workshop on the subject of controls and protective devices. The workshop provided an opportunity for close pooling of information and exchange of opinion, and generated considerable interest among conference delegates. In lively discussions, they identified areas of activity for standardization, and discussed approaches to the various issues.

“Ergonomic requirements must cease to be regarded as optional extras.“ At the workshop on ergonomic requirements, representatives of the European Commission, CEN, the social partners, researchers and specialists from the sphere of standardization were in agreement that ergonomic issues must be regarded by engineers as a natural part of the machine design process.

At the conference under the heading “The new Machinery Directive – The expectations of prevention experts regarding standardization“, a workshop addressed risks presented by emissions of noise and hazardous substances from machinery. The discussion focussed upon the changes to the Machinery Directive concerning emissions, and the impact of these changes upon standards.

Telescopic loaders are used on construction sites, in agriculture and in industry for the lifting and transporting of loads. Drivers of such machines see room for improvement in a range of technical details. In their view, telescopic loaders should bemade more stable, offer better visibility, and be designed more ergonomically. These observations should also be consideredduring standards development work.

Channel baling presses are employed in recycling plants. They compress recyclable materials such as paper, board or film intobales. European occupational safety and health experts have formulated a proposal for a standard which is to make working on these machines safer. Support is now being sought in order for the standardization project to be launched at European level.