(or "the art of leaving old, well-trodden paths and being open to new ones")
Hand on heart - who has ever dealt with the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC? Probably very few designers to (even more likely) nobody, right? Why should they? There are many counter-arguments, such as "When am I supposed to do that?" or "We've always done it this way". Besides, it's just a guideline and nothing binding.
But (and now it's getting a bit "electro-philosophical") aren't we behaving like the people in Plato's story with this attitude, chained to stress and the desire to get the electrical design finished quickly? The delivery date is already long past when the design is started, and the customer's requirements are still very specific. All of this always seems very important and so the designer likes to be fooled into thinking that it will somehow work. Hope instead of knowledge, the illusion instead of stepping out into the light of safety....
Well, comparing the Machinery Directive with one of the greatest philosophical works of antiquity is a bold attempt. But the way we deal with this set of rules is somewhat Plato-like... However, a quick look at the Machinery Directive also shows that a lot has happened in terms of the timing of its introduction and implementation to date. Originally, the MRL was introduced as a directive in 2006, as the individual EU states still had to ratify it, which they implemented in the form of harmonized standards in the following years. Thanks to this approach, the inclined reader is provided with some important information, but also "meaningless" insights when dealing with the directive and the standards:
- However, it is also worth questioning the new aspects and seeing how they can be implemented.
- Many cooks spoil the broth, as the harmonized standards were probably drawn up by many different authors.
- Many core statements are repeated frequently, so that the reader is left with the suspicion that the authors were paid by the word count.
- Should/could statements are numerous, but are not binding
- Many of the demands mentioned are already familiar and it feels like they have always been implemented...
Yes, that may indeed be the case, but a feeling, however good it may be, is no basis for legal certainty. In order to be safe, you have to deal with the Machinery Directive and the Machinery Ordinance, which will come into force in July 2023, because otherwise, as a designer, you will always be the company's "wading tree", as the designer will be personally legally liable if a person is injured as a result of your "unsafe design". This makes it all the more important to take a safe approach.
In this new blog, we will gradually deal with the core statements of the Machinery Directive, the Machinery Ordinance and the associated standards. This won't hurt, but it should help you to overcome your inhibitions about these regulations and ultimately benefit the design and manufacture of machines. The aim should be: "As much as necessary, as little as possible", i.e. we look at the important core statements so that we can quickly get to the point.
By the way, anyone familiar with the allegory of the cave knows that the story unfortunately did not end well. The protagonist, who loosened the chains and followed the path out of the cave into nature and sunshine, returned to tell his fellow prisoners about the beauty outside the cave. However, they did not want to hear this and killed him as a heretic (Plato deliberately described the story of his friend Socrates here).
We want to avoid this fate.
