After considerable delay, the EU recently published an updated list of standards that it recognises as providing a presumption of conformity with the current Machinery Directive. This listing is the compliance engineer’s go-to document since it offers assurance that machines that are designed and tested according to the listed standards will comply with the safety requirements of the Machinery Directive.
This latest Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) was published on 2nd August, and was warmly welcomed by compliance stakeholders. Of note, it cites all 13 parts of the latest version of the EN 474 series. These are the standards that give a presumption of conformity to construction equipment and CEA members played a pivotal role, both from the leadership and expertise perspectives, in their development. The series was published in early 2022 but we’ve had to wait until now for them to be granted harmonised status.
Importantly, all 13 parts of the EN 474 series were published without any restrictions being placed upon them. Previously, restrictions had been issued which effectively removed the presumption of conformity for the clauses in the standards that covered the safe attaching of quick couplers and the visibility aspects of excavators. Both restrictions have been removed in this latest listing, meaning that manufacturers are free to apply the EN 474 2022 series with the assurance that a full presumption of conformity is offered.
