CEN/TC 10 ‘Lifts, escalators and moving walks’ standards address the safety, accessibility, and environmental aspects of lifting appliances intended to carry persons and/or lifting appliances including escalators, lifts, lifting platforms, stairlifts, lifting tables, and lifts for specific applications. In 2025, CEN/TC 10 will continue to work on the following projects:
• EN 81-42 ‘Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts – Special lifts for the transport of persons and goods – Part 42: Vertical lifting appliances with enclosed carrier intended for use by persons, including persons with disability’ in support of the Machinery Directive/Regulation and M/396;
• EN 81-76 ‘Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts – Particular applications for passenger and goods passenger lifts – Part 76: Evacuation of persons with disabilities using lifts’ in support of the Lifts Directive and M/599.
CEN/TC 197 ‘Pumps’ is responsible for developing standards related to the safety and performance of pumps and pumping machinery used for liquids, including those where pumps serve as the primary operational mechanism. In 2025, CEN/TC 197 will finalize EN 17038-3 ‘Pumps – Methods of qualification of the Energy Efficiency Index for rotordynamic pump units – Part 3: Testing and calculation of energy efficiency index (EEI) of booster sets’. In addition, CEN/TC 197 plans to initiate the revision of EN 809 ‘Pumps and pump units for liquids – Common safety requirements’ in 2025, in support of the Machinery Regulation.
CEN/TC 145 ‘Plastics and rubber machines’ develops standards in the field of machines used for the preparation and processing of plastics and rubber. In 2025, CEN/TC 145 will continue the revision of prEN 16474 ‘Plastics and rubber machines – Tyre curing machines – Safety requirements’ in support of the Machinery Directive/Regulation. Additionally, CEN/TC 145 will start the revision of the following project, addressing the safety requirements of the Machinery Regulation:
• EN 289 ‘Plastics and rubber machines – Compression moulding machines and transfer moulding machines – Safety requirements’.
CEN/TC 146 ‘Packaging machines safety’ develops standards in the field of safety of machines and equipment used to prepare (not including the manufacture of packaging material), fill, close assemble, and package containers of solids, liquids, powders, and gases. In 2025, CEN/TC 146 will finalize the following revisions of standards in support of the Machinery Directive:
• EN 415-2 ‘Safety of packaging machines – Part 2: Packaging machines for pre-formed rigid containers’;
• EN 415-7 ‘Safety of packaging machines – Part 7: Cartoning and case packing machines’;
• EN 415-8 ‘Safety of packaging machines – Part 8: Strapping machines’.
CEN/TC 147 ‘Crane Safety' is responsible for developing safety standards for the design and manufacturing of various types of cranes. In 2025, the technical committee will continue its work on creating European Standards for several crane types. Notably, the following key standards, which are essential for complying with the Machinery Regulation (2023/1230), are currently under revision and are expected to be published in 2025:
• EN 13001-3-5 ‘Cranes – General design – Part 3-5: Limit states and proof of competence of forged and cast hooks‘. This standard specifies general conditions, requirements, and methods to prevent mechanical hazards in crane hooks.
• EN 14238 ‘Cranes – Manually controlled load manipulators‘. This document specifies requirements for manually controlled load manipulating devices for the handling of loads.
Additionally, CEN/TC 147 has scheduled the revision of the following standards to ensure they meet the essential health and safety requirements of the Machinery Regulation (2023/1230). These updated standards are expected to be published in 2025:
• EN 14492-1 ‘Cranes – Power driven winches and hoists – Part 1: Power driven winches‘. This standard will provide a safe basis for the application of winches designed for the movement or manipulation of loads.
• EN 13852-2 ‘Cranes – Offshore cranes – Part 2: Floating cranes‘. This standard will specify the safety requirements for floating cranes, including their supporting pedestals or structures.
• EN 15056 ‘Cranes – Requirements for container handling spreaders‘. This standard specifies safety requirements of spreaders for the purpose of handling freight containers.
CEN/TC 150 ‘Industrial Trucks Safety’ will continue to collaborate closely with ISO/TC 110 to develop globally relevant safety standards for industrial trucks which also address specific regional requirements. This work will focus on preparing for the Machinery Regulation (EU 2023/1230). In 2025, CEN/TC 150 is planning to finalize EN 17968 ‘Rough-terrain variable-reach tractors – Safety requirements and verification for permanently mounted equipment’. The standard deals with all significant hazards and hazardous situations relevant to the operation of the PME (such as fork arms, bale spikes, and mowers).
CEN/TC 151 ‘Construction equipment and building material machines – Safety’ develops standards in the field of safety of machines and equipment used on construction sites, for winter service and highway maintenance, as well as for the production and processing of mineral building materials. In 2025, CEN/TC 151 plans to finalize work on the following candidate harmonized standards in support of the Machinery Directive/Regulation:
• EN 12348 ‘Core drilling machines on stand – Safety’;
• EN 15027 ‘Transportable wall saw and wire saw equipment for job site – Safety’.
CEN/TC 176 ‘Thermal energy meters’ focuses on the standardization of thermal energy meters, covering requirements for accuracy, construction, and testing, including recommendations for installation, commissioning, and operation of all types, sizes, and working principles of thermal energy meters. In 2025, CEN/TC 176 will finalize CEN/TR 13582 ‘Installation of thermal energy meters – Guidelines for the selection, installation and operation of thermal energy meters’.
CEN/TC 232 ‘Compressors, vacuum pumps and their systems’ develops standards in the field of compressors and vacuum pumps, portable and stationary, for all compressible gases and their systems. In 2025, CEN/TC 232 aims to publish EN ISO 18623-1 ‘Air compressors and compressed air systems – Part 1: Air compressor safety requirements (ISO/DIS 18623-1:2023)’. This standard deals with all significant hazards and hazardous situations relevant to the design, installation, operation, maintenance, dismantling, and disposal of compressors and compressor units.
CEN/TC 310 ‘Advanced automation technologies and their applications’ develops standards in the field of automation systems and technologies and their application and integration to ensure the availability of the standards required by industry for design, sourcing, manufacturing and delivery, support, maintenance and disposal of products, and their associated services. In 2025, CEN/TC 310 will continue working on EN ISO 13482 ‘Robotics – Safety requirements for service robots (ISO/DIS 13482:2024)’ in support of the Machinery Directive/Regulation.
CEN/TC 332 ‘Laboratory equipment’ closely collaborates with its international counterpart ISO/TC 48 to adopt European Standards (ENs) for laboratory equipment. These standards closely align in structure and content with ISO standards, making the transformation between the two systems both reasonable and promising. Furthermore, in 2025, CEN/TC 332 will work on the following standards:
• EN 17242 'Recirculatory Filtration Fume Cupboards';
• EN 16589-2 'Laboratory Local Exhaust Devices – Part 2: Commissioning and On-Site Testing'.
CLC/TC 78 ‘Equipment and tools for live working’ develops standards for work equipment, devices and tools, including personal protective equipment used for work on or near live electrical systems or installations. In 2025, CLC/TC 78 will finalize EN 50374 'Conductor Carts' to support the essential health and safety requirements of the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC).
Harmonizing Standards for Pressure Equipment in Europe: An Ongoing Collaboration
Pressure equipment, with its diverse devices and unique complexities in materials, operating conditions, manufacturing processes, and control technologies, underscores the need for the highest safety standards across industries. Central to this, the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) (Directive 2014/68/EU) and the Simple Pressure Vessels Directive (SPVD) (2014/29/EU) are crucial to govern the design, manufacture, and conformity assessment of pressure equipment used in numerous sectors in the European Union.
To ensure compliance with these regulations, several CEN Technical Committees (TCs) are actively working to deliver harmonized standards in support of both the PED and the SPVD. This coordinated effort is part of recent Standardization Requests that involve developing, revising, and updating 234 European standards for PED and 9 for SPVD.
CEN/TC 54 will finalize the EN 286 series, which addresses 'Simple unfired pressure vessels designed to contain air or nitrogen’, in support of the SPVD.
Furthermore, CEN/TC 121 ‘Welding and allied processes’, following the Vienna Agreement, will conclude work on several crucial standards:
• EN ISO 15613 'Specification and Qualification of Welding Procedures for Metallic Materials – Qualification Based on Pre-Production Welding Test’ (ISO/DIS 15613:2022);
• EN ISO 15611 ‘Specification and Qualification of Welding Procedures for Metallic Materials – Qualification Based on Previous Welding Experience’ (ISO/FDIS 15611:2023);
• EN ISO 15614-11 'Specification and Qualification of Welding Procedures for Metallic Materials – Welding Procedure Test – Part 11: Electron and Laser Beam Welding’ (ISO/DIS 15614-11:2022).
Moreover, the following set of European standards are expected to be finalized or make further progress in 2025 :
• EN 17533 ‘Gaseous hydrogen – Cylinders and tubes for stationary storage’
• EN 764-7 ‘Pressure equipment – Part 7: Safety systems for unfired pressure equipment’
• EN 13445-3:2021/FprA1 ‘Unfired pressure vessels – Part 3: Design’
• EN 13445-14 ‘Unfired pressure vessels – Part 14: Additional requirements for pressure equipment and pressure components fabricated with additive manufacturing methods’
• EN 13397 rev ‘Industrial valves – Metallic diaphragm valves’
• EN 12392 ‘Aluminium and aluminium alloys – Wrought products and cast products – Special requirements for products intended for the production of pressure equipment’
• EN ISO 21028-1 ‘Cryogenic vessels – Toughness requirements for materials at cryogenic temperature – Part 1: Temperatures below -80 degrees C’ (ISO/DIS 21028-1:2024)
• EN ISO 21009-1 ‘Cryogenic vessels – Static vacuum-insulated vessels – Part 1: Design, fabrication, inspection and tests’ (ISO/DIS 21009-1:2024)
• EN 12953-1 ‘Shell boilers – Part 1: General’
• EN 12953-2 ‘Shell boilers – Part 2: Materials for pressure parts of boilers and accessories’
• EN 14917:2021/prA1 ‘Metal bellows expansion joints for pressure applications’
• EN 10253-2:2021/prA1 ‘Butt-welding pipe fittings – Part 2: Non alloy and ferritic alloy steels with specific inspection requirements’
Moreover, with hydrogen playing an increasingly pivotal role in various industries, several CEN technical committees are in the process of revising existing standards under the framework of the Pressure Equipment Directive (2014/68/EU) to cater to the emerging demand for hydrogen deployment technologies. Their scope also extends to meet the aviation sector's current needs, in line with Europe's 2050 climate objectives.
To this end, significant efforts are already underway in CEN/TC 54 ‘Unfired Pressure Vessels’. This technical committee aims to specify the requirements for unfired pressure vessels and their components designed for hydrogen applications, in addition to the general requirements for unfired pressure vessels.
Other technical committees, such as CEN/TC 267 ‘Industrial piping and pipelines’ and CEN/TC 69 ‘Industrial Valves’, are actively planning to progress work on hydrogen related topics.
Finally, the CEN Strategic Advisory Group on Pressure Equipment will continue to facilitate the exchange of information and the coordination between different stakeholders. It also identifies standardization needs in relation to harmonized standards under the Pressure Equipment Directive and the Simple Pressure Vessel Directive.
MACHINERY SAFETY