Harmonized European Standards - Siemens SINUMERIK 840D sl Function Manual

Manufacturers of a machine must verify that their machine complies with the basic
requirements. This verification is facilitated by means of harmonized standards.
2.2.2

Harmonized European standards

The two Standards Organizations CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation) and CENELEC
(Comité Européen de Normalisation Électrotechnique), mandated by the EU Commission,
drew-up harmonized European standards in order to precisely specify the requirements of the
EC directives for a specific product. These standards (EN standards) are published in the
Official Journal of the commission of the European Parliament and Council and must be
included without revision in domestic standards. They are designed to fulfill basic health and
safety requirements as well as the protective goals specified in Annex I of the Machinery
Directive.
When the harmonized standards are complied with, then there is an "automatic assumption"
that the directive is fulfilled. This means that the manufacturer may then assume that he has
complied with the safety aspects of the directive under the assumption that they are also
handled in that particular standard. However, not every European Standard is harmonized in
this sense. Key here is the listing in the official journal of the commission of the European
Parliament and Council.
European standards relating to the safety of machines are structured in a hierarchical manner
as follows:
A standards (basic standards)
B standards (group standards)
C standards (product standards)
Type A standards/basic standards
A standards include basic terminology and definitions relating to all types of machine. A
standards are aimed primarily at the bodies responsible for setting the B and C standards. The
measures specified here for minimizing risk, however, may also be useful for manufacturers
if no applicable C standards have been defined.
Type B standards/group standards
B standards cover all safety-related standards for various different machine types. B standards
are aimed primarily at the bodies responsible for setting C standards. They can also be useful
for manufacturers during the machine design and construction phases, however, if no
applicable C standards have been defined. A further sub-division has been made for B
standards, and more precisely in:
● Type B1 standards for higher-level safety aspects, e.g. basic ergonomic principles, safety
clearances from hazards, minimum clearances to avoid crushing parts of the body.
● Type B2 standards for protective safety devices are defined for various machine types –
e.g. Emergency Stop devices, two-hand operating circuits, interlocking elements,
contactless protective devices, safety-related parts of controls.
Type C standards/product standards
C standards are standards for specific products – for instance, machine tools, woodworking
machines, elevators, packaging machines, printing machines etc. Product standards list
Safety Integrated
Function Manual, 12/2017, 6FC5397-4BP40-6BA1
Regulations and standards
2.2 Machine safety in Europe
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