CELEX: 51995PC0642
Language: en
Date: 1995-12-04
Title: Re-examined proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE AMENDING 89/655/EEC ON THE MINIMUM SAFETY AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS FOR THE USE OF WORK EQUIPMENT BY WORKERS AT WORK (SECOND INDIVIDUAL DIRECTIVE WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 16(1) OF DIRECTIVE 89/391/EEC)

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                      Brussels, 04.12.1995
                                      COM(95)642 final
                                      94/0077 (SYN)
                 Re-examined proposal for a
                  COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
               AMENDING 89/655/EEC
    ON THE MINIMUM SAFETY AND HEALTH
    REQUIREMENTS FOR THE USE OF WORR
       EQUIPMENT BY WORKERS AT WORK
(SECOND INDIVIDUAL DIRECTIVE WITHIN THE
           MEANING OF ARTICLE 16(1) OF
                  DIRECTIVE 89/391/EEC)
 (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 c (d)
                      of the EC Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                  Explanatory Memorandum
The Commission submitted the original proposal for this Directive to Council on 14 March
 19941.
The aim of the proposal is to complement Directive 89/655/EEC (as foreseen in its article
9(1)) by additional minimum requirements relating to specific work equipment such as mobile
and lifting equipment. Safety and health conditions during the use of work equipment shall
be improved through rules for use and a system of in-service inspections.
The Economic and Social Committee and European Parliament rendered their opinion on 23
November 1994 and 17 February 1995 respectively. On 27 June 1995, the Commission
transmitted to Council an amended proposal2.
The Council of Ministers agreed on a common position on 24 July 1995, which was adopted
by the European Parliament on 15 November 1995 subject to 10 amendments. Out of these
10 amendments, the Commission accepted six subject to slight redrafting. As regards the
amendments accepted, the Commission has the following comments to make:
Amendment no. 3
Subject:       Lays obligation to take measures on employers
Comment:       It is consistent with the rest of the article to place this obligation on employers.
               However, a more flexible formulation allows employers to choose other
               methods of achieving the safety level.
Amendment no. 4
Subject:       Clarifies the aim of provision
Comment:       Improves text even further if the words "to them" are inserted after "relevant".
Amendment no. 5
Subject:       Extends requirement from permanently installed to all work equipment
Comment:       The provision of the common position suffersfromsome imprecision. However,
               its generalization to all work equipment cannot be accepted
    1
        COM(94) 56 final-SYN 77
    2
        COM(95) 311 final
 ---pagebreak--- Amendment no. 6
Subject:     Renders the common position more precise along the lines of the original
             proposal
Comment:     The text is clarified further with redrafting focussing on the protection
             objective.
Amendment no. 7
Subject:    Requires traffic rules only if two or more mobile work equipments are
             operating in a common area
Comment:    Eliminates a useless requirement from the common position.
Amendment no. 9
Subject:    Clarifies common position in requiring that national legislation and/or practice
            must specify appropriate supervision in order to make possible exceptional
            lifting of persons with work equipment not foreseen to this end
Comment:    Renders transparent the operating conditions; a slight redrafting further
            improves upon the text.
The Commission rejected four amendments, namely amendments 1, 2, 8, and 10.
The Commission renders the following opinion in respect to the amendments it has rejected:
Amendment no. 1
Subject:    Insists on ensuring "health and safety of workers" in the recital addressing
            paragraph 2 of Article 118A (SMEs)
Comment:    Covered already by the first recital.
Amendment no. 2
Subject:    States that the objectives of the directive must define minimum safety and
            health requirements
Comment:    This formulation is unclear. Both the amended proposal and the common
            position took over the second part of this amendment.
 ---pagebreak--- Amendment no. 8
Subject:   Reinstates rules for use of mobile equipment regarding remote control, loading
           of work equipment, energy transmission units and projecting objects.
Comment:   The specific requirements of this amendment are covered in more general terms
           by various parts of annexes I and II of the common position.
Amendment no. 10
Subject:   Reinstates rules for use of lifting equipment regarding the observation of
           potential defects.
Comment:   The surveillance of all lifting operations provided for by paragraph 3.2.5 of
          annex II of the common position goes beyond this amendment.
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                  Re-examined proposal for a
                  COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
               AMENDING 89/655/EEC
    ON THE MINIMUM SAFETY AND HEALTH
    REQUIREMENTS FOR THE USE OF WORK
       EQUIPMENT BY WORKERS AT WORK
(SECOND INDIVIDUAL DIRECTIVE WITHIN THE
           MEANING OF ARTICLE 16(1) OF
                  DIRECTIVE 89/391/EEC)
 (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 c (d)
                      of the EC Treaty)
                                      r
 ---pagebreak---       Common position                                        Re-examined proposal
  Penultimate Whereas
  Whereas the Member States shall, after                Whereas this Directive shall determine the
  consultation with both sides of industry, and         level of safety to be attained by the employer,
  with due allowance for national legislation           leaving the Member States free to establish,
  and/or practice, establish procedures whereby         after consultation with both sides of industry
  a level of safety may be attained corresponding       and with due allowance for national legislation
  to the objectives indicated by Annex II to this       and/or practice, corresponding application
  Directive;                                            procedures.
 Article 1. paragraph 1, (c)
 (c)      the following paragraph shall be added:      (c) the following paragraphs shall be added:
  "3. Member States shall, after consultation with     '3. The employer shall take appropriate
 both sides of industy, and with due allowance         measures to ensure that, during use of the work
 for national legislation and/or practice,             equipment, the level of safety corresponding to
 establish procedures whereby a level of safety        the objectives laid down in the provisions of
 may be attained corresponding to the                  Annex II is attained.
 objectives indicated by the provisions of
 Annex IL"
                                                       4. The Member States shall, after consultation
                                                       with both sides of industry and with due
                                                       allowance for national legislation and/or
                                                      practice establish procedures for the application
                                                      of paragraph 3.'
Article 1. paragraph 4
 " Workers must be alerted to relevant dangers,       " In sofar as they could be affected, workers
work equipment present in the work area or            must be made aware of dangers relevant to
site and any changes affecting them inasmuch          them arising from work equipment present in
as they affect work equipment situation in their      their immediate work area or site even if they
immediate work area or site, even if they do          do not use such work equipment directly."
not use such equipment directly."
Annex I. paragraph 3. point 3.2.3.
                                                      3.2.3. Permanently installed work equipment
3.2.3. Permanently installed work equipment           must be installed and/or fitted out in such a
must be installed in such a way as to reduce          way as to reduce the risk of the load:
the risk of the load:
                                                      (a) striking workers;
(a) striking workers;
                                                      (b) drifting dangerously or unintentionnally
(b) drifting dangerously or falling freely;                 falling freely;
                                                      (c) being released unintentionally.
(c) being released unintentionally.
                                                   <r
 ---pagebreak---     Common position                                    Re-examined proposal
Annex n . point 1.1.
                                                   1.1. Work equipment must be installed, located
1.1. Work equipment must be installed, located    and used in such a manner that workers are not
and used in such a way as to reduce risks to      struck by its moving parts, and not crushed
users of the work equipment and for other         between its moving parts and fixed or moving
workers, for example by ensuring that there is    parts in its environment and in such a manner
sufficient space between the moving parts of      that all forms of energy and substances used or
work equipment and fixed or moving parts in       produced can be supplied and/or removed
its environment and that all forms of energy      safely.
and substances used or produced can be
supplied and/or removed in a safe manner.
Annex II. point 2.2.
                                                  2.2. If two or more items of work equipment
2.2. If work equipment is moving around in a      are moving in a common work area,
work area, appropriate traffic rules must be      appropriate traffic rules be drawn up and
drawn up and followed.                            followed.
Annex II. point 3.1.2..
                                                  3.1.2. Persons may be lifted only by means of
3.1.2. Persons may be lifted only by means of     work equipment and accessories provided for
work equipment and accessories provided for       this purpose.      Without prejudice to Article
this purpose.      Without prejudice to Article   5 of Directive 89/391/EEC, exceptionally and
5 of Directive 89/391/EEC, exceptionally,         provided that national legislation and/or
work equipment which is not specifically          practice lays down appropriate supervision,
designed for the purpose of lifting persons may   work equipment which is not specifically
be used to this effect, provided appropriate      designed for the purpose of lifting persons may
action has been taken to ensure safety in         be used to this effect, provided appropriate
accordance with national legislation and/or       action has been taken to ensure safety.
practice laying down appropriate supervision.
                                                  While workers are on work equipment
While workers are on work equipment               designed for lifting loads the control position
designed for lifting loads the control position   must be manned at all times. Persons being
must be manned at all times. Persons being        lifted must have reliable means of
lifted must have reliable means of                communication. In the event of danger, there
communication. In the event of danger, there      must be reliable means of evacuating them.
must be reliable means of evacuating them.
                                                I
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                     ISSN 0254-1475
                                                             COM(95) 642 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                             04
                                     Catalogue number : CB-CO-95-683-EN-C
                                                              ISBN 92-77-97435-4
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