EU Issues of Relevance to the Rental Industry Last Update: 6 February 2012
CHAPTER 1 – CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT 1.1° The Machinery Directive The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC was published on 9th June 2006 and it is applicable from 29th December 2009, replacing the Machinery Directive 98/37/EC. The aim of the Machinery Directive is to provide for the regulatory basis for the harmonization of essential health and safety requirement for machinery at European level. This Directive thus has major implications for any company placing equipment on the EU market (mostly equipment manufacturers and importers of equipment). As major purchasers of construction equipment, rental companies should be aware of its content and requirements. The Machinery Directive does not apply to rented equipment which was first placed on the EU market according to the Directive by a manufacturer, importer or distributor. When rental companies however directly purchase or transfer new or used equipment from outside the European Union, they are responsible for the compliance of the equipment with the requirements of the Machinery Directive, as in that case, they are the ones placing the equipment on the EU market. The European Commission has published in June 2010 its second guidance on the application of the Machinery Directive, which provides support for the interpretation of the Directive. For more information and links to the Directive and Guidance documents: -
European Commission Website: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/mechanical/machinery/
1.2° Safety Leaflets / Instruction Manuals It is compulsory in almost all countries to provide the instruction manual provided by the manufacturers of equipment to customers of rental companies. However, such lengthy instruction manuals can be completed with safety leaflets providing for the basic information any person operating a said piece of equipment should be aware of. Many national associations produce such safety leaflets for their member companies. Some rental companies also produce them on their own. In order to support rental companies and national rental association when creating instruction leaflets to be distributed to customers in one or the other country, the ERA has drafted a framework for the production of safety leaflets available at: http://www.erarental.org/publications/ERA-Annual-Report/index.html