Contributing to the functioning of the ErgoMach Platform especially with the objective to contribute to the elaboration of a CEN Technical Report on the Feedback method.
Regular meetings of the CEN Management Centre:
Regular meetings of CEN Technical Committees:
Meetings of the European Commission
1) The adequacy of the Machinery Directive to address cybersecurity and machine learning.
Goal: A) Equipping European Union stakeholders (Market Surveillance Authorities, Policy Makers, Manufacturers, Trade Unions, Employers, OHS Bodies, ISO/CEN Standard makers) with a networking opportunity to discuss concrete case studies, and study how control engineering is covering artificial intelligence (AI) applications; B) improving relationships between different organizations and sectors with interest in machinery safety; enhancing the capacities of organizations, institutions and agencies to face industrial technological developments.
Output: Four Seminars
2) 2015 - Present. Health and Safety in Construction Sites.
Goal: Connecting with Companies purchasing machinery to be used in construction sites in order to investigate the challenges of assessing and reducing the risks associated to the equipment they buy on the market and make available to the workforce.
Output: Creating a Task Force consisting of national accident insurance bodies, ministries of labour, construction companies, health and safety experts, social partners of the construction sector. This Task Force will contribute to the revision of directive 2006/42/EC. Identifying areas in need of improvement and clarification: information for use, maintenance procedures, accessories connectivity, quick couplers management, interoperability of control systems from different vendors.
3) 2010 - 2018. Working safer with construction machines.
Goal: Bringing together the European social partners in the construction sector (FIEC and EFBWW) and CECE, the European construction machinery manufacturers’ association, to explore and consolidate new modes of communication and cooperation.
Output: Direct dialogue between manufacturers and consumers has been established, so as to inspire simple solutions even for quite complex issues, such as better ergonomics for work equipment and safety aspects like collision avoidance and visibility, with a special attention to support the process of European standardization and improve equipment design at the source.
4) 2002 - 2018. Improving Machinery Design by Benefitting from Workers' Experience ( Feedback).
5) 2008 - 2017. Ergonomics and design, ordering and using of Machinery (ErgoMach).
Many experts help ETUI to study the role of technology in the working environment with the objective to enhance performance, profitability, and the health and safety of the European workforce.
Unit III, Health and Safety and Working Conditions, in particular, stands on the shoulders of the experts who since the late eighties have played a significant role in enhancing Trade Unions’ capacitites to improve occupational safety: Dr. Massimo Bartalini, Dr. Fabio Strambi, Dr. Manuela Cucini and Dr. Alessandro Fattorini.
They have been able to equip stakeholders across Europe with the basic understanding, skills, and knowledge required to make better decisions in the safe design of any work system.
ETUI thanks them all for the wonderful cooperation, understanding, and support throughout all these years.
The Seminar "Improving Machinery Safety: current issues and emerging risks, automation, robotics and the new Machinery Directive" - jointly organised by ETUI, EFFAT and EFBWW - was held in Bruxelles on 11 and 12 February 2019, and brought together more than 50 participants from 14 European countries.
The participants included representatives from trade unions, national market surveillance authorities, machinery manufacturers, employers organisations, OHS bodies, as well as representatives from the European Commission.
Programme:
The impact of Operation and Maintenance of Wind Turbines on the Health and Safety of Workers
Claudia Narocki - ISTAS – CCOO
------------------------------------------
Agriculture machinery: safety problems with power take-off (PTO) drive shafts and their guards
Leonardo Vita, Davide Gattamelata – INAIL
------------------------------------------
Overview about accidents with agriculture machinery
Sebastian Dittmar - SVLFG
------------------------------------------
The Feedback Method applied in Agriculture and Construction: current activities and new perspectives
Fabio Strambi – ETUI Scientific Advisor in Ergonomics in the Design of Work Systems and Standardisation, Massimo Bartalini – USL Sudest Toscana
------------------------------------------
The Revision of the Machinery Directive
Felicia Stoica, European Commission, DG Grow, Deputy head of Unit C/3 Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing Systems
------------------------------------------
Safety issues in Collaborative Robotics: Examples of Current Best Practices, Critical Areas and New Perspectives
Federico Vicentini, National Research Council of Italy (CNR) - Chair UNI/CT24/GL9 Robots and robot systems – Member ISO/TC299 WG3 Industrial robots - Member ISO/TC299 WG2 Personal care robots
------------------------------------------
Using Robots to Remove Asbestos in Construction Sites
David Chauvin, Direccte Rhones Alpes, Direction du Travail
------------------------------------------
Risk Assessment in the work on Escalators during maintenance operations
Abderrafik Zaigouche - CGT
------------------------------------------
Treatment tables - Quick couplers
Michael Thierbach – KAN Commission for Occupational Health and Safety and Standardization (KAN)
Since its creation, ETUI has been following the implementation of the Machinery Directive (MD) through the Machinery Working Group (MWG), set up by the Machinery Committee in order to allow observers from industry, standardisation and the Notified Bodies to take part in the discussion of problems relating to the practical application of the Machinery Directive.
The work of the Machinery Working Group is complemented by the activities of the Machinery Administrative Cooperation Group (Machinery ADCO Group). This is a forum for the exchange of information between the market surveillance authorities of the Member States and the Commission. The Machinery ADCO Group usually meets twice a year and is chaired in turn by representatives of the Member States. The meetings are restricted to the representatives of the Member States and the Commission and the proceedings and documents of the ADCO Group are confidential, since they frequently refer to specific cases under investigation. However other stakeholders are invited to take part in ADCO meetings as experts, for a limited time, to contribute on particular topics.
ETUI has been attending the MWG since its creation, and since the last three years has been frequently invited to the machinery ADCO Group, where the “feedback” work on forklift trucks, telehandlers, and combine harvesters has been presented. The issues tabled at the MWG cover a wide range of machinery aspects: EC-type examination, relation between MD and other directives, Notified Bodies technical recommendations, progress of safeguard clauses (Commission opinions), quality of Annex ZA of specific standards, applicability of the MD to specific equipment and their classification, interchangeable equipment, overlapping scope of standards, human factors, operating instructions, conflicting national regulations, control systems, Ergonomics. Given this very diversified agenda, ETUI very often attends the MWG accompanied by skilled experts in order to increase its capacity to 1) quickly understand the reactions of the speakers and intervene during the discussions and 2) collect the information and knowledge that is indispensable to raise the quality of ETUI's technical advice and expertise.
Standardisation is increasingly affecting the working conditions (product safety, nanotechnology, environment, service, energy, transport, etc.): ETUI is currently dealing with "mandated" standards supporting "product" Directives, with priority given to standards covering machinery safety and ergonomics. These pages also offer information and recommendations on how trade unions can play a role in ensuring that standards adequately integrate workers' concerns.
The significant impact of Standardisation on workers can be measured by looking at the list of Sectors where standards are being prepared.
ETUI deals with standardisation on Occupational Health and Safety matters as required by European mandates and standards that are in direct support of the EU OSH Acquis.
The reader is invited to explore the issue of HesaMag providing a special report provides fresh information and reflections on the new opportunities for trade union involvement in Standardisation.
A reminder of the work carried out by the "Editorial Committee" for the "Joint Initiative on European Standardisation" under the Single Market Strategy [(COM)2015, 550final], shown on action on this photo from one of the various meetings, involving the same Commission team (Bollens, Mamalis, Grones, Vaccaro, Viljanen, Tessarolo) that successfully finalized the Vademecum on European Standardisation.
In this photo, under the supervision of Mr. Aguinaga, the chairmanship of Mr. Bollens is addressing and solving smoothly few critical items, with full satisfaction of the experts around the table regardless of their different background and sponsorship.
Stefano Boy and Christophe Hauert, and later Guido De Jongh and Katrin Behnke, ensured the active contribution of ETUI and ETUC.
