2nd Guide to Application of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC

In July 2017 an update to the second edition of the official guidance was published, known as Edition 2.1 of The Guide to the Application of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.

2nd Edition

The European Commission has now published the second edition of The Guide to the Application of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Unlike the first edition of the official Guide to the New Machinery Directive, the new version includes guidance on Annexes III to XI. This new edition was endorsed by the Machinery Committee on 2 June 2010.

Annexes III to XI are as follows:

• Annex III - CE marking
• Annex IV - Categories of machinery to which one of the procedures referred to in Article 12(3) and (4) must be applied
• Annex V - Indicative list of the safety components referred to in Article 2(c)
• Annex VI - Assembly instructions for partly completed machinery
• Annex VII - Part A, Technical file for machinery and Part B, Relevant technical documentation for partly completed machinery
• Annex VIII - Assessment of conformity with internal checks on the manufacture of machinery
• Annex IX - EC type-examination
• Annex X - Full quality assurance
• Annex XI - Minimum criteria to be taken into account by Member States for the notification of bodies

In addition, the comments on the provisions relating to chains, ropes and webbing for lifting purposes have been improved to clarify the practical application of the requirements relating to these products. Legal references and terms have been updated in line with the Lisbon Treaty; readers therefore need to note, for example, that where the Directive refers to the Community the Guide now refers to the EU. Various errors have also been corrected.

This new, complete, official guide to the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, which now includes a thematic index to help find information on particular topics, will be welcomed by those who read the first edition but wanted guidance on the annexes that were not covered by that edition. Nevertheless, at 404 pages, the guide is a substantial volume.

The second edition of The Guide to the Application of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC can be downloaded (as a 2MB PDF file) from the European Commission's website. [As an alternative, you may like to download a free copy of the MachineBuilding.net Guide to the New Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, which is more succinct, yet it still provides ample information and advice, as well as a detailed analysis of the differences between Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and its predecessor - Ed]