New Machinery Directive: the changes and implications
August 4th 2008

As you may now be aware it is all changing again with the new Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. The new Directive introduced into UK legislation at the end of June 2008 and comes into force on the 29th December 2009.

There are a number of major changes to the existing directive with the changes to the essential health and safety requirements to numerous to mention in full

Examples:

1) the person responsible for CE Marking now has to be Legal and natural in the Community (who signs your declaration of Conformity?)

2) In addition the Essential Health and Safety Requirements have changed and been updated to accommodate the progression of technology (are you still using 'state of the art' technology?)

3) There are changes to the scope with new types of equipment now covered and an extended list of excluded items i.e. household machinery.

4) If you are a series manufacturer or you are involved with a project that takes you in to 2010 then you really have to apply the changes to the directive now. Remember the existing Directive will be repealed of the 29th December 2010, therefore neither you nor your clients can declare compliance to a directive that does not exist.

Laidler Associates is now running a series of seminars on the new Directive, the first of which take place in November of this year.

Provisional dates are November 25th in High Wycombe, November 26th in Coventry and November 27th in Leeds. If you want to be ahead of your competitors and not be caught out by the changes please contact Laidler Associates on enquire@laidler.co.uk., alternatively, visit Laidler's web site for further information.

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