As TESTPLUS, we keep track of regulations, standards, and decrees in our area of expertise and promptly inform both our own staff and relevant customers of any updates so that no time is wasted. Our technical team reviews the changes brought about by updates and immediately implements the necessary measures, updates to our product certification program, and sanctions.
The current 2006/42/EC Machinery Safety Regulation has been updated several times over the past twenty years, albeit not very frequently, in line with technological requirements, feedback from manufacturers, public authorities, committee meetings, and approved bodies. In particular, the draft revision of the Machinery Safety Regulation, published under the number 2021/0105/COD, aims to address the following issues:
- The current 2006/42/EC Machinery Safety Regulation does not address new risks arising from evolving technologies, legal uncertainties due to the lack of clarity in the scope, and potential safety gaps in traditional technologies for high-risk machinery.
- Currently, the requirement to store technical documentation in printed form results in high financial and environmental costs associated with paper-based documents.
- The increasing use of artificial intelligence in machine groups used for industrial purposes and the fact that the risks arising from this are not assessed in the current 2006/42/EC Machinery Safety Regulation or are subject to the interpretation of the person inspecting the machine.
- Another issue with the current machine safety regulation is that the list of high-risk machines in Annex IV has not been updated in the last 15 years. Today, many machine groups can now be operated without human intervention thanks to sensors, artificial intelligence, and safety measures. With the new 2021/105/COD Machine Safety Regulation, some machines will no longer be classified as “high-risk machines.”
- The new 2021/0105/COD Machine Safety Regulation will highlight the risks associated with human-machine interaction in autonomous operations.
The results report on the studies currently published predict that the new draft “2021/0105 (COD)” Machinery Safety Regulation could be applicable for manufacturers within 30 months. Transitions related to CE certificates obtained from an authorized body and still valid must be carried out by the relevant organizations in accordance with their internal procedures. Following the necessary revisions by the authorized body, existing machine CE certificates may be used until their expiration date.
As TESTPLUS, we closely monitor all developments related to the regulations within our scope and provide this information to our stakeholders. We update our inspection, testing, and certification services in accordance with the latest developments to ensure that no errors occur.
