Safety of machinery

Contact: Rita Schlüter (schlueter@kan.de)

European standardization in the field of machine safety serves primarily to supplement the safety and health protection requirements of the EC Machinery Di-rective. KAN has carried out several analyses on this subject and has put forward recommendations concerning fundamental or specific safety aspects of European machine safety standardization.

In the field of machine safety, KAN's current activities include the following:

• Instruction handbooks
• Emissions
• Hazards caused by vibrations
• Hazards caused by noise
• Foreseeable abuse/misuse
• Agricultural machinery

Instruction handbooks

Contact: Corado Mattiuzzo (mattiuzzo@kan.de)

Instruction handbooks are documents supplied with products; they have a sig-nificant function in a number of New Approach directives. Annex I of the Machin-ery Directive, for example, contains requirements for the information which must be included within instruction handbooks. A short guide, which was not restricted to the area of machinery, was drawn up by KAN in conjunction with DIN. The purpose of this guide is to show the committees how a standard should deal properly with residual risks which cannot be avoided by technical means.

For further information on the subject, see:

• KANBrief 4/99: Information for use in machinery standards
• KAN Report 18:  Requirements concerning instruction handbooks in product standards in support of the EC Machinery Directive

Emissions

Contact: Angela Janowitz (janowitz@kan.de)

With regard to their treatment of hazards arising from emissions from machinery - noise, vibration, hazardous substances and radiation - the existing dedicated product standards do not satisfactorily meet the essential requirements govern-ing safety and health stipulated in the Machinery Directive.

In the light of these results, KAN and the French OH&S community have devel-oped a position concerning the need for quantification of emissions from machin-ery. Based upon this position, the task is now one of promoting further progress in the standardization of measurement methods and states of operation, the quantification of emissions as a measure of the state of the art, and the collec-tion of emissions data. 

For further information on the subject, see:

• KANBrief 3/08: Smoke and noise: reducing and measuring emissions
• KANBrief 1/08: CEN/CENELEC Noise Consultants: tasks and achievements
• KANBrief 2/07: Protection against noise and vibration
• KANBrief 3/05: Noise: an unwanted by-product of moulding machines
• KANBrief 3/03: Measurement of vibrations: Comparable methods for compa-rable machines
• KANBrief 2/01: Noise control – the new EC “Outdoor Noise” directive
• KANBrief 1/00 Special "Emissions" 
• KANBrief 2/98 Emissions – KAN's position
• KAN Report 21: Information on emissions in machinery standards
• KAN Report 15: Emission of hazardous substances by machinery
• KAN Report 8: Noise protection for machinery and workplace - status of and need for occupational health and safety standardization
• KAN Report 3: Definition of the need for standardization to establish vibration parameters

Hazards caused by machinery vibrations

Contact: Angela Janowitz (janowitz@kan.de)

The Machinery Directive requires machine manufacturers to reduce vibrations to the lowest possible level and to include information in the instruction handbook for the user of the machine concerning the residual risk caused by vibration. Standardization can support this directive requirement by standardizing technical measures for vibration reduction and test methods for vibration measurement. However, there are shortcomings, e.g. in the essential vibration standards and in the use of "guide values" in specific machinery safety standards to describe the state of the art with regard to vibration reduction.

For further information on the subject, see: 

• KANBrief 2/07: The need for research and opportunities for co-operation in the area of vibration
• KANBrief 3/03: Measurement of vibrations: Comparable methods for comparable machines
• KANBrief 4/02: Vibration directive in force
• KANBrief 2/98: Emissions – KAN’s position

Hazards caused by machinery noise

Contact: Angela Janowitz (janowitz@kan.de)

The Machinery Directive requires machine manufacturers to reduce noise to the lowest possible level and to include information in the instruction handbook for the user of the machine concerning the residual risk caused by noise. Standardi-zation can support this directive requirement by standardizing technical meas-ures for noise reduction and test methods for noise measurement. There are shortcomings, e.g. in the use of, for example, "guide values" in specific machin-ery safety standards to describe the state of the art with regard to noise reduc-tion. 

For further information on the subject, see:

• KANBrief 3/08: Smoke and noise: reducing and measuring emissions
• KANBrief 1/08: CEN/CENELEC Noise Consultants: tasks and achievements
• KANBrief 2/07: Protection against noise and vibration
• KANBrief 2/01: Noise control – the new EC “Outdoor Noise” directive
• KANBrief 2/98 Emissions – KAN's position 
• KAN Report 8: Noise protection for machinery and workplace

Reasonably foreseeable misuse

Contact: Corado Mattiuzzo (mattiuzzo@kan.de) 

Machinery manufacturers are obliged to perform a risk analysis for their prod-ucts. The risk analysis is initially based upon the "intended use" of the product. This is the purpose of the product as indicated by the manufacturer. The relevant statutory provisions (such as the Machinery Directive) require that consideration must also be given to risks arising from "foreseeable abnormal situations", e.g. faults. In addition, the expected use is to be considered. This is described as "foreseeable misuse" in the basic machine standard EN ISO 12100. In KAN's view, it is therefore important that standards consider not only the intended use, but also the reasonably foreseeable misuse.

For further information on the subject, see: 

• KANBrief 2/01: Intended use and foreseeable misuse

Agricultural machinery

Contact: Katharina von Rymon Lipinski (vonrymonlipinski@kan.de) 

In the past, opinions have frequently differed concerning the safety requirements applicable to agricultural machinery. On the one hand, calls have been made for the essential requirements contained in Annex I of the Machinery Directive to be applied directly. On the other, it has been pointed out that these provisions should be applied only on the basis of a risk assessment in consideration of the particular conditions prevailing in the agricultural sector, and with reference to the state of the art. KAN has commissioned a study into the safety of agricultural machinery, with the aim of describing the state of standardization in this area. European and international standards were analysed with regard to the extent to which they adequately support the requirements of the Machinery Directive.

Further information:

• KANBrief 01/10: Is agricultural machinery on the home straight?
• KAN Report 41: Safety of agricultural machinery
• KANBrief 02/2008: Safety of agricultural machinery