§250 1.7.3.　機械の表示

The first paragraph of section 1.7.3 deals with particulars that must be marked on all machinery, in addition to other information or warnings to users. Although the Directive does not specify any marking on partly completed machinery (PCM), it would be a good practice to mark PCMs with sufficient identity information to unambiguously link to their assembly instructions and their Declaration of Incorporation. Where a PCM is subject to other legislation (e.g. ATEX, LVD, etc.), it must be marked in accordance with the requirements of that other legislation. Apart from the CE marking and the ATEX marking, section 1.7.3 does not impose any particular form for the marking on the machinery, providing it is visible, legible and indelible. The marking must therefore be affixed in a place on the machine that is visible from the outside and not hidden behind or beneath parts of the machinery.

Taking account of the size of the machinery, the characters used must be large enough to be read easily. The marking technique used must ensure that the marking will not be effaced during the lifetime of the machinery, taking account of the foreseeable conditions of use. If the marking is displayed on a plate, it should be permanently fixed to the machinery, preferably by welding, riveting or bonding.

In the case of products which are too small to bear a legible marking of the particulars required by section 1.7.3, the marking can be displayed on a durable label attached to the product (while ensuring that the correct functioning of the machinery is not affected).

Specific marking requirements for chains, ropes and webbing are set out in section 4.3.1 – see §357: comments on section 4.3.1.

The language requirements set out in section 1.7.1 do not apply to the particulars referred to the in first paragraph of section 1.7.3. However, these particulars should be written in one of the official EU languages.

The following comments refer to the six indents of the first paragraph of section 1.7.3:

the business name and full address of the manufacturer and, where applicable, his authorised representative

The purpose of the requirement set out in the first indent of section 1.7.3 is to enable the user or the market surveillance authorities to contact the manufacturer in case of a problem – see §79 to §81: comments on Article 2 (i). The same information must be given in the EC Declaration of Conformity – see §383: comments on Annex II 1 A.

The term 'business name' refers to the name under which the company concerned is registered.

The term 'full address' means a postal address that is sufficient to enable a letter to reach the manufacturer. The name of the country or town alone is not sufficient. There is no obligation to mark the manufacturer’s e-mail address or Website, although these can usefully be added.

The business name and full address of the authorised representative of the manufacturer established in the EU must also be marked on the machinery in cases where the manufacturer has mandated such an authorised representative – see §84 and §85: comments on Article 2 (j).

If it is not practicable to include in the marking the full address of the manufacturer or of his authorised representative, for example, in the case of very small machinery, this information be provided in the form of a code, provided that this code is explained and the full address is given in the instructions supplied with the machinery – see §259: comments on section 1.7.4.2 (b) and in the EC Declaration of Conformity of the machinery – see §383: comments on Annex II 1 A.

designation of the machinery

The term 'designation of the machinery' refers to the usual name of the category of machinery to which the specific model of machinery belongs (the term has a similar meaning to the terms 'generic denomination and function' used in Annex II with respect to the EC Declaration of conformity). Wherever possible, the term used to designate the category of machinery concerned in harmonised standards should be used. The same information must be given in the EC Declaration of conformity – see §383: comments on Annex II 1 A.

If it is not practicable to include in the marking an explicit designation of the machinery, for example, in the case of very small machinery, the designation can be provided in the form of a code, providing that this code is explained and the explicit designation is given in the instructions supplied with the machinery – see §259: comments on section 1.7.4.2 (b) and in the EC Declaration of conformity of the machinery – see §383: comments on Annex II 1 A.

The manufacture’s designation of the machinery should not be construed as a basis for determining whether or not certain EHSRs or conformity assessment procedures are applicable, which must be determined independently.

the CE Marking (see Annex III)

The requirements for the CE marking are set out in Article 16 and Annex III. According to Annex III, the CE marking must be affixed in the immediate vicinity of the name of the manufacturer or his authorised representative, using the same technique – see §141: comments on Article 16 and §387: comments on Annex III.

designation of series or type

The designation of the series or type is the name, code or number given by the manufacturer to the model of machinery concerned that has been subject to the relevant conformity assessment procedure. The designation of the series or type often includes a trademark.

serial number, if any

A serial number is a means of identifying an individual item of machinery belonging to a series or type. The Machinery Directive does not require machinery to bear a serial number, but where a serial number has been attributed by the manufacturer, it must be indicated after the designation of the series or type.

the year of construction, that is the year in which the manufacturing process is completed.

It is prohibited to pre-date or post-date the machinery when affixing the CE marking.

The year of construction is defined as the year in which the manufacturing process is completed. For machinery that is assembled in the manufacturer's premises, the manufacturing process can be considered to be completed, at the latest, when the machinery leaves the manufacturer's premises to be transferred to an importer, a distributor or to the user.

For machinery that is only finally assembled at the user's premises, the manufacturing process can be considered to be completed when the assembly of the machinery on site has been completed and is ready to be put into service. The same applies for machinery manufactured outside the EU and finished within Europe. For machinery manufactured by the user for his own use, the manufacturing process can be considered to be completed when the machinery is ready to be put into service – see §80: comments on Article 2 (i).

In cases where used machinery, which has never previously been placed on (or put into service in) the EU market and is going to be placed on the EU market, the marking date to be applied is the one when the equipment crosses the border from outside into the EU market (to be put in conformity and sold). Where used machinery has been modified to such an extent it is considered ‘new’ - see §82: comments on

Article 2(i), the marking date to be applied is the one when either the modified machinery is brought back into use or placed on the market for the first time after modification.

In addition to the general requirements on marking set out in section 1.7.3, additional requirements on marking for mobile machinery are set out in section 3.6.2; requirements on marking for chains, ropes and webbing, lifting accessories and lifting machinery are set out in section 4.3; additional requirements on marking for machinery for lifting persons are set out in section 6.5.

It should be noted that, on machinery subject to the Outdoor Equipment Directive 2000/14/EC, the CE marking is accompanied by the marking of the guaranteed sound power level – see §92: comments on Article 3, and §271: comments on section 1.7.4.2 (u).