CEMA and French authorities meet to solve standardisation open issues

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French Ministry of Agriculture and CEMA representatives met on 17 January in Paris to deal with concerns expressed by France on two safety standards during the last Machinery Directive Working Group.

These issues raised regarded:

  • visibility, as described in amendment to EN ISO 4254-1 “Agricultural machinery – General requirements”. For French authorities, the requirements given do not respect the prioritization of visibility means as it is described in Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.
  • safety standard on sprayers, EN ISO 4254-6 “Agricultural machinery – Sprayers”, under development: the draft does not refer to EN standards series dealing with cab filtration, for the protection of the driver against spray when spraying because the ISO committee did not agree to include the reference to these European standards.

This meeting, hosted by AXEMA, had the intention to find solutions in order to move forward into the standardisation process and deliver harmonised standards.

In the short term, there was a proposal to add a statement in the European Foreword of both standards to provide further information to ensure full compliance with Machinery Directive.

As mid-term actions, the French Ministry informed industry that a collection of accident data involving visibility issues will be provided. As a result, a list of machines requiring further visibility specifications will be clearly identified and amendments in specific standards will be planned.

Besides, it was agreed to focus first on self-propelled machinery. CEMA asked the French Ministry to prepare a first draft on visibility for agricultural self-propelled machinery, which could be based on recognised ISO standards dealing with front, rear and lateral visibility for tractors.

As regards sprayers, it was reminded that a new proposal at ISO level to cover cab filtration has been registered based on European and American standards. The intent is to reach a publication by December 2022. The publication of such an ISO standard will allow to complete then ISO 4254-6 on the protection of the driver against spray when spraying.

What’s next?

CEMA and the French Ministry of Agriculture will inform the European Commission about the agreed items above in order to move forward.