The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC is the EU law that has set the design and build rules for machinery since 2009.
It defines what counts as machinery, lists the essential health and safety requirements, and underpins CE marking, the technical file and the Declaration of Conformity. The UK implemented it through the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, and Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces it from 20 January 2027.
An isolator switch is a compliant on-off device, correctly coloured and lockable, that lets maintenance teams safely de-energise a machine before servicing.
Risk reduction is the process of driving machinery risk down to an acceptable level; design measures come first and PPE comes last.
Own-use machinery is equipment a business designs, builds or modifies for use on its own site; the law treats the business as the manufacturer regardless.
For nearly two decades, the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) has been the backbone of machinery safety compliance across Europe.
Introduction Machinery is now software-defined, connected, and increasingly autonomous. The Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 treats software failures as
A question we hear regularly from clients is which assessment do they actually need for their machinery —
Speak to a Knox Thomas engineer about compliance, risk assessment and safeguarding for your machinery.
