INNOVATIVE SALES STRATEGIES USING CE-MARKING COMPLIANCE
An American manufacturer’s sales team meets with a potential European client who was recently fined £8,435.70 (about US$13,500.00) by a regional court, because one of his employees trapped an arm in the rotating gears of a metal-rolling machine.
His company was found to be in breach of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER Directive 89/665/EEC), the machine was declared unsafe by a regional government inspector who also cited the absence of a risk assessment. The result: legal prosecution and a fine. This experience has made the client painfully aware of the need to find compliant CE-marked equipment to replace unsafe equipment and “ensure a safe workplace”.
Some American manufacturers have knowledge of the issues faced by end-users and have invested considerable dollars to make sure that their machines are compliant with European Directives. Their sales teams use the knowledge that they have a compliant machine to encourage end-users to consider their machine, which is important because increasingly end-users refuse to look at any machinery if there is doubt about manufacturers knowledge of the requirements.
EU employers with 5+ employees must select work equipment in accordance with the general obligations of PUWER, (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) which requires users to perform a hazard and risk assessment of the work place and work equipment. (machinery) All work equipment purchased must meet the provisions of all applicable European Directives (i.e. Machinery, Low Voltage, ATEX, EMC, Noise etc.)
They also use their knowledge as a sales tool by discussing how they have satisfied the Essential Safety & Health requirements of Annex I of the Machinery Directive. This helps end-users understand what to look for when they are examining competitors’ machines.
To this end some manufacturers will offer the client a copy of their hazard and risk assessment to help them meet their obligations under PUWER. Clients respond favorably to this information and gain both respect for a manufacturer and confidence that they are familiar with European directives.
The directive that concerns them most is the Machinery Directive (98/37/EC), because they are increasingly aware that manufacturers are not required to involve a third party for certification. End-users have seen too much equipment that is not compliant and this is actually getting some manufacturers a bad reputation.
It is of growing concern to the end-users that they have to manage the CE marking compliance risk, which is the precise intend of a powerful tool called “Self-Regulation” by industry.
Case no: F150000510 is real and the details can be found by using the “advanced search” feature at: www.hse.gov.uk/prosecutions
E-mail: qnet@ce-mark.com
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