Category: Standard

Report PPE Working group meeting April 2015.

Gyula Szabó

The Federation of European
Ergonomics Societies was represented at the Directive 89/686/EEC
Working group meeting in Brussels, 21 April 2015, by Reinier
Hoftijzer as member of the S&G working group.

The Federation of European
Ergonomics Societies was represented at the Directive 89/686/EEC
Working group meeting in Brussels, 21 April 2015, by Reinier
Hoftijzer as member of the S&G working group.

To represent ergonomics in European
level is extremely important because the existing PPE Directive will
be replaced by a European PPE regulation. Besides up to date changes
in the legislation it also means that this new regulation has not to
be transformed into national legislation of the European Member
States. By the end of 2014 there was a common Council position. The
final voting in the European Parliament will very soon. It is
expected that the final decision between EU/Commission/Parliament and
final version agreement will be available before summer 2015. There
will be a transition period of at three years (2018).

The Federation of European
Ergonomics Societies can give opinion regarding the part of the
guidelines concerning Ergonomics. All decisions regarding the new
guidelines have to be taken before the end of 2015.

On behalf of CEN there was also
announced that there will a new proposal for a horizontal TC
(Technical Committee) of CEN and CENELEC under Dutch secretariat
(NNI) about horizontal subjects regarding “Personal Protective
Ensembles and Systems” (also Ergonomics). Also under CEN TC 122
Ergonomics at the meeting in Prague (4 and 5 May) was a decision on a
new WG (Working group) “Ergonomics design and evaluation of
integrated PPE systems”, also under Dutch secretariat (NNI) and
Dutch convenor.

The next meeting will be on 17 November
2015.

Societal Stakeholders’ Toolbox at CEN and CENELEC

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CEN and CENELEC have launched a new section on their website as part of their ongoing efforts to encourage the widest possible range of stakeholders to get involved in standardization activities and help shape the content of European Standards. 


The ‘Societal Stakeholders’ Toolbox’ is aimed in particular at supporting the participation of organizations that are concerned with defending the interests of consumers, protecting the environment, and promoting the health and safety of workers.

Standards, which are documents that set out specifications and other technical information with regard to various kinds of products, materials, services and processes, can have significant impacts on the safety and well-being of consumers and workers, as well as on the wider society and the environment. Enabling organizations representing societal stakeholders to participate in the development of standards helps to ensure that all relevant concerns can be taken into account during the drafting process.

The ‘Societal Stakeholders’ Toolbox’ can be accessed directly from the homepage of the CEN-CENELEC website. It provides practical advice to organizations representing consumers, workers and environmental interests on where to find information about ongoing standardization activities and how they can contribute to the standards development process at national, European and international levels.

The toolbox has been developed by CEN and CENELEC in the framework of their ongoing collaboration with three umbrella organizations that represent the interests of specific interest groups within the European Standardization System.  These organizations are: ANEC (the European consumer voice in standardisation), ECOS (European Environmental Citizens Organisation for Standardisation), and ETUI(European Trade Union Institute – Health and Safety Department).

At national level, many members of CEN and CENELEC are also cooperating with societal stakeholders organizations. Based on existing examples of good practice, CEN and CENELEC are encouraging all of their members (in 33 European countries) to support the active involvement of societal stakeholders in standardization activities and to facilitate this by providing relevant information on their respective websites.

The ‘Societal Stakeholders’ Toolbox’ was officially presented at the CEN-CENELEC New Year Cocktail Reception, which took place in Brussels on 22 January 2014.