Machinery Directive - Idiots getting smarter

London – These days “machines are designed to be idiot-proof: problem is, the idiots are getting smarter,” Paul Laidler, MD of industrial safety consultancy Laidler Associates, said at a press event to explain the latest raft of changes to the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC).

Laidler was commenting, in particular, on how equipment makers and end users will soon be potentially liable for any accident throughout the entire lifecycle of a piece of equipment – from transport, operation and maintenance to decommissioning and scrapping.

However, while not his intended target, for some Laidler’s quip might equally apply to EU rule makers, who continue to trot out regulations much faster than industry, especially small and medium-sized companies – can cope with.

According to Laidler, the many ramifications of the new Machinery Directive are still not being fully understood.

There was, he said, particular confusion surrounding new functional safety standards EN 13849-1 and EN 62061 , which will – after a series of reprieves – now definitely replace EN 954-1, this December.

It seems that behind all the regulatory flux is a steely determination amongst the regulators to impose a risk-based approach throughout the industry supply chain – as has happened in very specific industries such as rail.

That’s fine in principle, but the reality is that in the broader manufacturing space, many companies lack the resources to deal with these constantly changing and increasingly complex safety requirements.