Feature Test & Measurement


Managing director of TÜV SÜD Product Service, Jean-Louis Evans, looks at how the changes made to EN 60335-1 will ensure manufacturers are aware of their obligations and are complying with the correct standards


N 60335-1 was first published in 1988 as a harmonised stan- dard under the Low Voltage Directive covering electrical


product safety, and provided a speci- fication for the safety of ‘household and similar electrical appliances’. This included equipment that may be a source of danger to the public, such as those used in certain working environments. This included, for example, commercial dishwashers and vending machines. However, EN 60335-1 has left


Clearing up years of confusion E


Above: Jean-Louis Evans, managing director at TÜV SÜD Product Service


many manufacturers unsure for more than 20 years if their products should also comply with the Machinery Directive. This lack of clarity has created an inconsistent approach to standards compliance for electrical appliances. Confusion amongst manufacturers meant that for many years a significant number of electrical products have not been declared as complying with the rele- vant directive. The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation,


Right and below: the updated EN 60335-1 provides clear guidance as to whether a manufacturer’s particular product must comply with the Low Voltage Directive, Machinery Directive or in some cases both


What is a machine? The new amendment also clarifies what constitutes a machine, as appli- ances without moving parts are not required to comply with the Machinery Directive. Moving parts are those powered by a drive system using one or more sources of energy such as thermal, electrical or mechanical. Any product with a drive system is therefore required to conform with the Machinery Directive, regardless of the size of the drive system, or of the moving part, or on the protection afforded against accessibility to moving parts. Moving parts are also those for which manual effect is not applied directly, for example in springs or hydraulic or pneumatic accumulators. This new definition of an appliance


with a moving part immediately clears up a lot of confusion within the indus- try, although some moving parts in appliances are considered unlikely to cause injury and as such Annex ZF excludes these appliances from the Machinery Directive. This new guid- ance therefore makes it clear against which directive or directives compli- ance must be declared. Part one of EN 60335 covers ‘gen-


eral requirements’ with various part two standards, if applicable, covering more than 90 specific product cate- gories e.g. food waste disposal units, battery chargers, oral hygiene appli- ances and milking machines. These part two standards therefore allow the general requirements under part one to be varied according to the spe-


cific use of a product, making it clear whether the product should be declared as compliant under the Low Voltage Directive, Machinery Directive or possibly both.


Getting all your ducks in a row CENELEC recognises that equipment manufacturers and testing organisations need a transitional period to give them some breathing space to get their house in order and equip themselves for con- ducting new or revised risk assess- ments. That transitional period expires in May 2013. This means that manufac- turers now have two years to ensure that their products are being declared against the correct directive. Manufacturers using the new Annex


ZF and who have identified that the Machinery Directive applies to their products, would be advised to perform risk assessments to ensure that their technical files are complete and correct as soon as possible. Until now, uncertainty has reigned


CENELEC, has now rectified this apparent flaw. As part of its quest for standardisation in the electrotechni- cal engineering field, it updated EN 60335-1 to incorporate amendment A14. This amendment, published in 2010, provides clear guidance in Annex ZF as to whether a manufac- turer’s particular product must comply with the Low Voltage Directive, Machinery Directive or in some cases both.


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as to whether a product should be declared compliant against the Low Voltage or Machinery Directive. Now that the introduction of Annex ZF has provided complete clarity, it will reveal that a number of manufactur- ers are incorrectly declaring confor- mity for their products. This will of course create a backlog of products that will require attention against the newly identified ‘correct’ directive. If you are affected, taking action now to ensure ongoing product compliance could avoid costly delays in a com- petitive marketplace.


TÜV SÜD Product Service www.tuvps.co.uk T: 01489 558 100


Enter 205 MAY 2011 Electrical Engineering


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