E.S.R., ESSENTIAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS, are often mentioned. This article aims at clarifying what E.S.R. are and how they should be applied by machinery manufacturers and end-users.
E.S.R. are part of annex I of the machinery directive, which sets a number of obligations every manufacturer must fulfil in order to declare conformity of their machine.
Compliance with E.S.R. can be achieved by a voluntary application of the harmonized standard implemented by European standardizing bodies. Such bodies set the criteria and technical indications to provide designing and manufacturing of safe machinery. Hazard identification and risk evaluation relative to the machinery, ACCORDING TO ISO 12100, help identify and apply pertinent requirements.In other words, E.S.R. are defined in relation to the hazards and risks the machinery presents. Such risks and hazards are spotted thanks to an in-depth analysis of the machinery i.e. the risk assessment. Once the relevant E.S.R. are identified, machinery upgrading follows. Such upgrading aims at meeting the identified E.S.R. requirements.
In other words, E.S.R. are defined in relation to the hazards and risks the machinery presents. Such risks and hazards are spotted thanks to an in-depth analysis of the machinery i.e. the risk assessment. Once the relevant E.S.R. are identified, machinery upgrading follows. Such upgrading aims at meeting the identified E.S.R. requirements.
The above mentioned is applied to MACHINERY BUILT AFTER 96. What happens when MACHINERY WAS BUILT BEFORE 96? What can a manufacturer do to fulfil E.S.R. requirements?
If the manufacturer carries out modifications which require changes in the machinery performance or operation, the manufacturer will provide CE marking which guarantees application of all relevant E.R.S.
If original features remain the same, the manufacturer will upgrade the machinery according to the General Safety requirements as per annex V of the Decree Dlgs 81/08.
