Amended proposal for DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending for the second time Directive 89/655/EEC concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work (2nd individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 of Directive 89/391/EEC)

(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

A) Principles

1. In November 1998 the Commission submitted a proposal for a Directive amending for the second time Directive 89/655/EEC [1] concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work [2].

[1] OJ L 393, 30.12.1989, p. 13, amended by Directive 95/63/EC, OJ L 335, 30.12.1995, p. 28.

[2] JO C 247E, 31.08.1999, p. 23.

Following the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty, the legal basis has changed from the former Article 118a to Article 137 (2), and the codecision procedure now applies.

2. The Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion on 24 March 1999 [3].

[3] JO C 138, 18.05.1999, p. 30.

The Committee of the Regions informed the Council, by letter dated 23 November 1999, that it would not deliver an opinion on this subject.

3. On 21 September 2000 the European Parliament adopted 21 amendments at first reading. At the same time the Commission stated its position on each amendment, indicating those which it could accept and those which it would not be possible to incorporate.

Taking account of these developments, the Commission is submitting the present amended proposal.

4. The changes made by the Commission are of two types:

The first group are formal changes following the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty.

The second group stem from the European Parliament's amendments accepted by the Commission - in full or in part - at the plenary part-session.

B) Explanations of the principal amendments

1. Risk assessment

Risk assessment before the start of work at a height is the main factor in accident prevention and takes place in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 89/391/EEC [4] and Article 3 of Directive 89/655/EEC [5].

[4] JO L 183, 29.06.1989, p.1.

[5] JO L 393, 30.12.1989, p. 13, amended by Directive 95/63/EC, OJ L 335, 30.12.1995, p. 28.

Amendment 10, which makes the use of ladders subject to a risk assessment, has been accepted subject to appropriate changes to the wording of point 4.1.2 of the Annex.

2. Worker training

Adequate specific training for workers is fundamental to the prevention of work accidents involving falls from a height. Amendments 5, 16 and 19 have therefore been accepted, subject to changes to the wording of recital 8 and points 4.3.2 and 4.3.6 of the Annex in line with the concepts of training and competent persons as used in all the existing texts in this field.

Point 4.3.6 of the Annex thus makes explicit reference to Article 7 of the original Directive.

3. Standard of safety/risk

The Commission has accepted amendments 9 and 12 (in part), which reinforce the text of points 4.1.1 ("maintaining the highest standard of safety") and 4.1.4 ("minimise the risks to which it gives rise").

4. Technical clarifications and improvements

A number of amendments are intended to make the text clearer and more precise. Amendments 2 and 3 relating to recitals 5 and 6, together with amendments 13 and 18 (after changes to the wording of points 4.2.1 and 4.3.4 of the Annex), have been accepted by the Commission.

Pursuant to amendments 14, 15, 17 and 20, the Commission has made technical changes relating to:

-ladders used for access protruding beyond the access platform (Annex, 4.2.2),

-loads carried by hand on a ladder (Annex, 4.2.3),

-bracing of scaffolding against movement (Annex, 4.3.3),

-operation of devices to prevent movement of mobile scaffolds (Annex, 4.3.3),

-removal and replacement of collective fall prevention safeguards in connection with a particular task (Annex, 4.3.7).

The Commission has also accepted amendment 11, which removes an ambiguity in point 4.1.3 of the Annex, and has replaced it by a clearer text concerning assistance in case of need in connection with the use of rope access and positioning techniques.

5. Self-employed persons

The Commission has accepted amendment 4 in the form of a new recital 7 expressing the need for a solution covering all persons involved in work at a height, including self-employed persons.

As it is not possible under the Treaty to go any further than Directive 92/57/EEC [6], the Commission is preparing a proposal for a Council recommendation on this subject.

[6] JO L 245, 26.08.1992, p. 6.

6. Amendments rejected in full or in part

Amendments 6 (recital 9) and 7 (Article 2 (3)) have not been incorporated, as they would change standard texts which have already been accepted many times.

The Commission has not accepted the new recital proposed by amendment 1, which it feels is already covered by the text as it stands. Similarly, a definition of fall prevention safeguards at the beginning of point 4.1 of the Annex (amendment 8) was not considered necessary, but the Commission has standardised the use of the term throughout the text. Likewise, the Commission feels that Directive 92/57/EEC sufficiently covers what is proposed by amendment 21 on the subject of warning signs on scaffolding.

In amendment 12 (point 4.1.4 of the Annex), the Commission feels that approval by a person responsible is too bureaucratic and would impose excessive burdens on companies. The same applies to preventing access by unauthorised persons whenever work is interrupted.

Concerning amendment 17, the marking of safety devices for mobile scaffolds is not regarded as a safety improvement (point 4.3.3 of the Annex).

1998/0327 (COD)

Amended proposal for

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending for the second time Directive 89/655/EEC concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work (2nd individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 of Directive 89/391/EEC) (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 137 (2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission [7], submitted after consulting the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work,

[7] JO C..... , ........., p.....

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee [8],

[8] JO C 138, 18.5.1999, p. 30.

After consulting the Committee of the Regions [9],

[9] The Committee of the Regions indicated, by letter of 23 November 1999, that it would not deliver an opinion on this proposal for a Directive.

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty ,

Whereas:

(1) Article 137 (2) of the Treaty provides that the Council may adopt, by means of directives, minimum requirements for encouraging improvements, especially in the working environment, to ensure a better level of protection of the safety and health of workers.

(2) Pursuant to the said Article, such directives must avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings.

(3) Compliance with the minimum requirements designed to ensure a better standard of safety and health in the use of work equipment provided for temporary work at a height is essential to ensure the safety and health of workers.

(4) The provisions adopted pursuant to Article 137 (2) of the Treaty do not prevent any Member State from maintaining or introducing more stringent measures for the protection of working conditions compatible with the Treaty.

(5) Work at a height may expose workers to particularly severe risks to their safety and health, and in particular to the risks of falls from a height and of serious occupational accidents which are responsible for high rates of injury, in particular fatal injuries.

(6) Any employer who intends to have temporary work carried out at a height must select equipment affording adequate protection against the risks of falls from a height.

(7) Self-employed persons and employers, where they themselves pursue an occupational activity and personally use work equipment intended for carrying out temporary work at a height, may affect employees' health and safety. A solution must therefore be found to cover all persons employed in preparing, performing and completing temporary work at a height.

(8) Ladders and scaffolding are the equipment most frequently used in performing temporary work at a height, and the safety and health of workers engaged in this type of work therefore depend to a significant extent on their correct use. The manner in which such equipment can most safely be used by workers has to be specified. Adequate specific training of workers is therefore required.

(9) This Directive is the most appropriate means of achieving the desired objectives and does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that purpose.

(10) This Directive is a practical contribution towards creating the social dimension of the internal market,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

SECTION I

Article 1

The text annexed to this Directive shall be added to Annex II to Directive 89/655/EEC.

Article 2: Final provisions

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by ..... (3 years after its adoption). They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.

2. When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by Member States.

3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the provisions of national law which they have already adopted or adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX

3.2.8 Work involving a risk of falls from non-guided load lifting equipment is permitted only under particular justified circumstances. In such cases, workers shall be protected by personal fall prevention equipment.

4. Requirements for the use of work equipment provided for temporary work at a height.

4.1 General

4.1.1 In accordance with Article 6 of Directive 89/391/EEC and Article 3 of this Directive, if temporary work at a height cannot be carried out in complete safety and under acceptable ergonomic conditions from a suitable surface, the work equipment most suitable to ensuring and maintaining the highest standard of safety throughout the operations shall be selected. The dimensions of the equipment shall be appropriate to the nature of the work to be performed and the foreseeable stresses and influences and shall allow passage without danger.

The most appropriate means of access to temporary workplaces at a height shall be selected according to the frequency of passage, height to be negotiated and duration of use. The choice made shall permit evacuation in the event of imminent danger. Passage in either direction between a means of access and platforms, decks or gangways shall not give rise to any additional risks of falling.

4.1.2 Ladders may be used as working places for work at a height only under circumstances in which, taking account of point 4.1.1 the use of other, safer work equipment is not justified in view of the low level of risk and either the short duration of use or existing characteristics of the sites which the employer cannot change.

4.1.3 Rope access and positioning techniques may be used only in special circumstances and subject to the following conditions:

-the system shall comprise at least two suspension ropes, each having a separate anchorage point;

-each of the two suspension ropes shall be equipped with fail-safe means of descent;

-tools and other accessories shall be secured to the workers' harnesses;

-work must be properly planned and supervised, so that assistance can be rendered immediately to the worker in case of need;

-the workers concerned shall have received training specific to the operations envisaged, including rescue procedures.

4.1.4 Depending on the type of work equipment chosen on the basis of the foregoing requirements, the appropriate precautions to minimise the risks to which it gives rise shall be determined. If necessary, provision shall be made for the installation of collective fall prevention safeguards. These shall be of suitable configuration and of sufficient strength to prevent or arrest falls from a height and, as far as possible, to preclude injury to workers. Collective fall prevention safeguards may be interrupted only at points of ladder or stairway access.

4.2 Specific requirements for the use of ladders

4.2.1 Ladders shall be so positioned as to ensure their stability during use. Portable ladders shall rest on a stable, strong, suitably dimensioned and immobile footing so that the rungs remain horizontal. Suspended ladders shall be attached in a secure manner and, with the exception of rope ladders, in a manner which ensures they cannot be displaced and prevents swinging.

4.2.2 When portable ladders are in use, their feet shall be prevented from slipping by securing the styles at or near their upper or lower ends, by any anti-slip device or by any other arrangement of equivalent effectiveness. Ladders used for access shall be long enough for their uprights to protrude sufficiently beyond the access platform. Ladders consisting of several assemblable components and extension ladders shall be so used as to ensure that components are prevented from moving relative to each other. Mobile ladders shall be immobilised before any person steps onto them.

4.2.3 Ladders shall be so used that a secure handhold and secure support are available to workers at all times. In particular, if a load has to be carried by hand on a ladder, it shall not preclude maintaining a safe handhold.

4.3 Specific requirements for the use of scaffolding

4.3.1 When no statement of the design calculations is available for the scaffolding selected or the statement does not cover the structural arrangements contemplated, stability calculations shall be carried out.

4.3.2 Depending on the complexity of the scaffolding chosen, an assembly, use and dismantling plan shall be drawn up by a competent person. It may be in the form of a standard plan, supplemented by items relating to specific details of the scaffolding in question.

4.3.3 The bearing components of a scaffold shall be prevented from slipping, either by attachment to the bearing surface or by provision of an anti-slip device or by any other means of equivalent effectiveness, and the load-bearing surface must have a sufficient capacity. Scaffolding shall be braced against movement. Mobile scaffolds shall be provided with devices which prevent their accidental movement when ready for use. These devices must be in operation before any person steps onto the scaffold.4.3.4 The dimensions, form and arrangement of scaffold decks shall be appropriate to the nature of the work to be performed and the loads to be borne and shall allow safe working and passage. They shall be of a thickness such that they are entirely safe, having regard to the distance between two supports and the loads to be withstood. Scaffold decks shall be so assembled that their components cannot move in normal use. There shall be no dangerous gaps between the deck components and the vertical collective fall prevention safeguards.

4.3.5 When parts of scaffolding are not ready for use, for example during assembly, dismantling or alteration, they shall be marked with general warning signs and be suitably delimited by physical means preventing access to the danger zone in accordance with the national provisions transposing Directive 92/58/EEC.

4.3.6 Scaffolding shall be assembled, dismantled or significantly altered only under the supervision of a competent person and only by workers who have received adequate training specific to the operations envisaged, in accordance with the provisions of Article 7, especially with a view to the following: understanding the plan for assembling, dismantling or altering the scaffolding concerned; safety during assembly, dismantling or alteration of the scaffolding concerned; measures to prevent the risk of persons or objects falling; safety measures in the event of changing weather conditions which may prejudice the safety of the scaffolding concerned; conditions relating to permitted load and any other risk which the abovementioned assembly, dismantling and alteration operations may entail. During the work, the competent person and the workers concerned shall have available the assembly and dismantling plan mentioned in point 4.3.2 of the present Annex.

4.3.7 When the performance of a particular task requires a collective fall prevention safeguard to be removed temporarily, effective compensatory measures shall be taken. The task may not be performed until such measures have been taken. Once that particular task is finished, either for good or temporarily, the collective prevention safeguards shall be put back in place.