North American Enterprises is also a full-service safety testing organization. Our safety laboratory is set-up to assess products for the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Equipment used in potentially flammable atmosphere is also required to comply with the requirements of equipment used in non-hazardous atmospheres to ensure there are no other associated risks, such electrical shock, fire, mechanical, etc.

European Requirements

Low Voltage Machinery
73/23/EEC 98/37/EC
Enforced January 1, 1997 Enforced January 1, 1995

Who Needs to Comply?
Manufacturers of mechanical and electrical products wishing to place products into the European Union .

Overview
The Low Voltage Directive applies to electrical equipment designed to operate at voltages in the range of 50 and 1,000 volts AC, or 75 and 1,500 volts DC. This directive requires manufacturers to ensure there is proper safety protection against electrical hazards arising from the equipment .

The Machinery Directive applies to machinery (with hazards associated with moving parts) and safety components for machinery. This directive requires a risk assessments to be conducted on all hazards associated with the equipment and to confirm the equipment is in compliance with all of the essential health and safety requirements outlined in the directive. The essential health and safety requirements include a wide range of hazards, such as electrical, mechanical, vibration, and noise.

Routes to Compliance
Low Voltage Directive: The manufacturer has the option of addressing either the European Standards applicable to the product (listed in the Official Journal) or the safety objectives listed in the directive. In some cases, it is in the manufacturers best interest to include a report drawn up by a Notified Body to show due diligence that the product is meeting the safety requirements.

Machinery Directive: Manufacturers have the option of addressing either the European Standard applicable to the product (listed in the Official Journal) or the essential health and safety requirements listed in the directive. For high-risk machinery and safety components listed under Annex IV of the directive, a Notified Body is required for attestation of the product and the technical documentation.

Overlap of the Machinery and Low Voltage Directives
There has been confusion as to whether manufacturers of electrically powered machinery must meet the Machinery Directive or the Low Voltage Directive, or both. In accordance with EU requirements, a manufacturer must legally comply with the more relevant of the two directives. However, the legal opinion in the EU is that whichever directive you choose to apply, the requirements of that directive must cover all risks associated with the product. A risk assessment of the product, properly conducted, will clearly show which directive is relevant.

North American Requirements