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The European Commission reviews the Machinery Directive
Massimo Brunamonti
About ten years after issuing the Directive, the technical staff of the European Commission considered it appropriate to proceed with an evaluation of the suitability of the same to new products and new technologies currently available or in the pipeline.
Most of us will remember the impact that the Machinery Directive 2006/42 / EC had at the time of its introduction in 2006, when, as part of the Ce marking procedure, the European Commission considered it appropriate to issue a comprehensive Directive on safety criteria relating to workshop equipment with the aim of freeing the circulation of compliant products within the Union. The Directive introduced a series of standard measures that, though seemingly complex and difficult to interpret at the time, turned out to be beneficial for those operators that adapted their business to the said Directive and enjoyed the guarantees that the Directive itself provides.
This is the case, for example, of car and truck lifts, traditionally more vulnerable than others items to safety issues. A recent study by Prosafe examined hundreds of lift installed in various EU countries. Well, thanks to the regulatory framework introduced by the Machinery Directive, inspectors have been able to ascertain the conformity of the products and sanction non-conformities in about forty cases. About ten years after issuing the Directive, the technical staff of the European Commission considered it appropriate to proceed with an evaluation of the suitability of the same to new products and new technologies currently available or in the pipeline. The result of the study was positive in many ways, in fact the number and vastness of European harmonized standards, over 700, have facilitated the application of the Directive on each specific product. An example of these harmonized standards relate to the work currently being done on garage lifts, on roller brake testers for trucks as well as tire changers, with Cuna / Uni's commitment for Italy and the support of AICA manufacturers.
As revealed by the study, the economic impact of the Directive was impressive: taking 2015 as a reference year, the garage machinery sector in Europe accounted for a volume of about 650 billion euro with over 2.9 million workers employed in about 90 thousand companies, mainly in Italy and Germany. As far as Italy is concerned, if we consider the total export figure of 108 billion euro, of which 51% out of the EU, and compare it to imports for 63 billion euro the trade balance scores an impressive + 58%. Equally significant are the investments made by the sector: around 13 billion euro across the EU with Italy second only to Germany. The effectiveness of the Directive on safety at work was also supported by the reduction of accidents in work places - 46% between 2008 and 2013. But it’s not all a bed of roses, especially when we consider inspection and notice that data are poor and highly irregular. The same report defines the inspections carried out "insufficient, ineffective and, at times, absurd": note that inspection costs in the EU amount to a meagre 2.3 million euro/year which corresponds to a tiny fraction of the entire market .
A further delicate matter is the possibility to apply the Directive to emerging technologies such as robotics, Internet of Things and AI. The study points out how these technologies do fall within the scope of the Directive, however it also notes, with a little embarrassment, that a great deal of new standards will have to be harmonized given the amount of new technologies and their application expected in the near future. According to a survey, 53% of the respondents believe that the Directive is more or less capable of supporting technological innovation, while concerns rise over the whole business ecosystem with 20% of the respondents who believe that the Directive should be updated. The European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska commented on the study's conclusions: "we are happy to see that the existing legislation is fit for the purpose in a changing world. This makes European products safe and competitive. Technology changes quickly so we will continue to monitor the situation and we’ll be ready to act if the need arises".
In our opinion, the need is already there and has to do with proper inspections; "insufficient, ineffective and, at times, absurd" inspections may induce some to adopt behaviours that are tantamount to unfair competition, with fatal consequences for safety and free movement of goods. Member States’ inspection authorities, therefore, are called upon to take immediate action to protect employment and investments in the sector.
This is the case, for example, of car and truck lifts, traditionally more vulnerable than others items to safety issues. A recent study by Prosafe examined hundreds of lift installed in various EU countries. Well, thanks to the regulatory framework introduced by the Machinery Directive, inspectors have been able to ascertain the conformity of the products and sanction non-conformities in about forty cases. About ten years after issuing the Directive, the technical staff of the European Commission considered it appropriate to proceed with an evaluation of the suitability of the same to new products and new technologies currently available or in the pipeline. The result of the study was positive in many ways, in fact the number and vastness of European harmonized standards, over 700, have facilitated the application of the Directive on each specific product. An example of these harmonized standards relate to the work currently being done on garage lifts, on roller brake testers for trucks as well as tire changers, with Cuna / Uni's commitment for Italy and the support of AICA manufacturers.
As revealed by the study, the economic impact of the Directive was impressive: taking 2015 as a reference year, the garage machinery sector in Europe accounted for a volume of about 650 billion euro with over 2.9 million workers employed in about 90 thousand companies, mainly in Italy and Germany. As far as Italy is concerned, if we consider the total export figure of 108 billion euro, of which 51% out of the EU, and compare it to imports for 63 billion euro the trade balance scores an impressive + 58%. Equally significant are the investments made by the sector: around 13 billion euro across the EU with Italy second only to Germany. The effectiveness of the Directive on safety at work was also supported by the reduction of accidents in work places - 46% between 2008 and 2013. But it’s not all a bed of roses, especially when we consider inspection and notice that data are poor and highly irregular. The same report defines the inspections carried out "insufficient, ineffective and, at times, absurd": note that inspection costs in the EU amount to a meagre 2.3 million euro/year which corresponds to a tiny fraction of the entire market .
A further delicate matter is the possibility to apply the Directive to emerging technologies such as robotics, Internet of Things and AI. The study points out how these technologies do fall within the scope of the Directive, however it also notes, with a little embarrassment, that a great deal of new standards will have to be harmonized given the amount of new technologies and their application expected in the near future. According to a survey, 53% of the respondents believe that the Directive is more or less capable of supporting technological innovation, while concerns rise over the whole business ecosystem with 20% of the respondents who believe that the Directive should be updated. The European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska commented on the study's conclusions: "we are happy to see that the existing legislation is fit for the purpose in a changing world. This makes European products safe and competitive. Technology changes quickly so we will continue to monitor the situation and we’ll be ready to act if the need arises".
In our opinion, the need is already there and has to do with proper inspections; "insufficient, ineffective and, at times, absurd" inspections may induce some to adopt behaviours that are tantamount to unfair competition, with fatal consequences for safety and free movement of goods. Member States’ inspection authorities, therefore, are called upon to take immediate action to protect employment and investments in the sector.
