The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, and lifts Directive 95/16/EC, are within the scope of the 'new approach'. The major task of CEN's technical committees working in the machinery sector is the development of standards supporting the essential safety requirements of these directives.
References and titles of 'Harmonized' European Standards cited in the Official Journal:
The classification of Machinery standards
(Excerpt of the 'EC Guide to application of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, § 111')
Machinery standards are classified into three types, A, B and C. The purpose of this classification is to enable the authors of standards for particular categories of machinery to refer to horizontal standards providing well tried technical solutions. The horizontal A and B-type standards can also help manufacturers designing machinery for which C-type standards are not available. The nature of the presumption of conformity conferred by application of the harmonised standards of these three types must be distinguished:
A-type standards
A-type standards specify basic concepts, terminology and design principles applicable to all categories of machinery. Application of such standards alone, although providing an essential framework for the correct application of the Machinery Directive, is not sufficient to ensure conformity with the relevant essential health and safety requirements of the Directive and therefore does not give a full presumption of conformity. For example, the application of standard EN ISO 14121-1 ensures that the risk assessment is carried out according to the requirements of General Principle 1 of Annex I, but it is not sufficient to show that the protective measures taken by the manufacture to deal with the hazards presented by the machinery comply with the relevant essential health and safety requirements of Annex I.
B-type standards
B-type standards deal with specific aspects of machinery safety or specific types of safeguard that can be used across a wide range of categories of machinery. Application of the specifications of B-type standards confers a presumption of conformity with the essential requirements of the Machinery Directive that they cover when a C-type standard or the manufacturer's risk assessment shows that a technical solution specified by the B-type standard is adequate for the particular category or model of machinery concerned. Application of B-type standards that give specifications for safety components that are independently placed on the market confers a presumption of conformity for the safety components concerned and for the EHSRs covered by the standards – see §42, comments on Article 2 (c).
C-type standards
C-type standards provide specifications for a given category of machinery such as, for example, mechanical presses, combine harvesters or compressors. The different types of machinery belonging to the category covered by a C-standard have a similar intended use and present similar hazards. C-type standards may refer to A or B-type standards, indicating which of the specifications of the A or B-type standard are applicable to the category of machinery concerned. When, for a given aspect of machinery safety, a C-type standard deviates from the specifications of an A or B type standard, the specifications of the C-type standard take precedence over the specifications of the A or B-type standard. Application of the specifications of a C-type standard on the basis of the manufacturer’s risk assessment confers a presumption of conformity with the essential health and safety requirements of the Machinery Directive covered by the standard.
List of Types A and B standards (DE and EN versions)
EC Guide to the Machinery Directive 2006/42 (2nd edition - June 2010)
CEN Consultants in the Machinery Safety Sector:
- Machinery: Mr Borzelli, Mr Chielens, Mr Hoyland, Mr Juhlin, Mr Umbreit.
- Noise: Mr Jacques, Mr Kurtz, Mr Nielsen
and their allocated Technical Committees.
For information concerning all the CEN Technical Committees involved in the Machinery Safety sector, please refer to the Work programme.
Latest news !!
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List of New Work Items at ISO and IEC:
ISO circular letter
ISO New Work Items August 2010
IEC New Work Items August 2010
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European Commission leaflet on CE marking:
CE marking Leaflet
Event co-organised by CEN, CENELEC and the EC/DG Enterprise and Industry. For more details:Invitation 
Registration form
New markets for SMEs with easy access to information on standards in China:
Standardisation Information Platform
- Reference EN ISO 13849-1:
The date of cessation of the presumption of conformity of the superseded standard EN 954-1 is postponed for 2 years until 31 December 2011, following the discussion at the Machinery Working Group on 7 - 8 December 2009.
For more information, go to the Safety of Machinery Sector Network.