June 2020

25 www.drivesncontrols.com June 2020 SAFETY n documentation of the Machinery Directive, augmented by numerous other documents, such as circuit diagrams, and layouts. The final step is to issue the EC Declaration of Conformity and to affix the CE sign. Used machines How would this knowledge be applied in the case of used machines? This is a topic that in recent times has once again been a subject of in-depth and heated discussion. It is common in manufacturing facilities for there to be countless machines built in different years, commissioned at different times, and in different states of conformity. There will be machines bearing a CE marking, in accordance with the old or new Machinery Directive, and machines with no CE marking, either because they’re so old that no Machinery Directive existed at that time, or because the Conformity Assessment Procedure or CE marking was, wrongly, simply neglected by the manufacturer. Although a machine must now bear a CE mark when first made available on the market, it may be legitimate to use machines without a CE mark if it can be proved, within the framework of the Industrial Safety Regulation, that this working equipment can still be considered safe today without a CE marking, irrespective of its age. One obvious case where a machine with no CE marking must be marked retroactively is when a machine undergoes substantial modification. When an old machine undergoes a retrofit, various measures are taken, and the machine is adapted to new conditions, and its mode of operation is changed. It may then be the case that this old machine must be regarded as a newmachine. If this is so, then all current conditions would also apply to this old machine. At first sight, this hardly sounds spectacular, but it can also be quite a risk. Imagine, say, that you have an old machine built 50 years ago, and now modify it substantially. It must now be regarded as a newmachine. Then, as the initiator of this, you must act as the manufacturer of a newmachine. This means all legal issues fall upon you – for an oldmachine that you did not originally build! You would have to initiate the Conformity Assessment Procedure for the purpose of retroactive CE marking and legally, as the manufacturer, you would also have to assume full responsibility for the machine. This can be quite difficult, especially with older machines, when by signing your name you take over responsibility for the statics andmechanics. A special case is machines imported from non-EU countries. These machines must always bear a CE mark. The manufacturer of such a machine from a non-EU country must have an authorised agent in the EU – someone who can put the machine on the market there for the first time in their name. If an accident happens or issues arise in connection with the machine, that agent can be held liable or even prosecuted. The same also applies – and this is certainly a special case – to oldmachines with no CE mark. This situationmay well arise when, for example, older machines are purchased fromnon-EU countries. In some cases they may be as much as 40 years old, but according to the regulation just described, these machines also have to be regarded as new on the day when the machine is first made available within the EU. This these oldmachines must also bear a CE Mark. n This article is based on a presentation given in a Pilz online conference, which replaced a physical conference due to have taken place inMay. All of the presentations are available on Pilz’s Web site. The company is also hosting a series of weekly webinars – see www.tinyurl.com/pilzwebinars for further details. Presses are characterised by long service lives thanks to their solid base and robust mechanics. After a retrofit, they can continue meet press safety, productivity and quality requirements for a further 10 to 20 years. Photo: Pilz Whether or not the UK will retain access to the European Single Market has yet to be seen (though it is looking unlikely), and negotiations have not yet started on the post-Brexit trading arrangements. According to the CE Marking Association, the majority of CE marking legislation is written into UK law and the CE mark will still represent the legal base mark for products to be placed on the UK market. UK regulations happen to be near-identical, word for word, to EC Directives, so they will almost certainly remain in force as they are. UK machine-builders exporting to Europe will, of course, need to continue CE marking their machinery. Manufacturers who distribute through an EU supply chain should understand that the economic operator status of that chain will change, which may require changes to packaging. If manufacturers of machinery intend to place products on the EU market following a“no-deal Brexit”, they should nominate the person who is responsible for compiling the Technical File who must be located within the EU. Depending on the arrangements when the UK leaves the EU, the UK market may retain CE marking or may use the UKCA mark (for United Kingdom Conformity Assessed) that was announced last year. The regime for UKCA marking will be all but identical to the existing CE marking regime. Of course, machine-builders in Europe or, indeed, anywhere else in the world, will need to UKCA mark their machines if they are exporting to the UK. Andy Pye, Consulting Editor What will happen after Brexit?