Machinery Purchase Specifications

The purchase of new machinery or industrial plants is an extremely delicate process, as is the subsequent commissioning.

It is in fact essential that the purchased machines comply with the applicable legislative and regulatory obligations and it is advisable for the purchaser to protect himself in this sense.

To do this, it is useful to clearly define in the purchase contract the requirements that must be met by the machines in order to be considered adequate.

New machinery: the contract

The purchase specifications, to be integrated in the order / contract, therefore play a fundamental role in clarifying the safety aspects of a machine.

The specifications

In the specifications must be determined technical standards that must be met and define in detail the optional documentation (for example electrical or pneumatic diagrams, information on PLs, etc.) that you expect to receive from the supplier with the machine in addition to the mandatory documentation defined by the Machinery Directive (declaration of conformity or incorporation , instructions for use ).

It may also be necessary to consider particular aspects of the environment where the machine will be installed, for example noise limits or emissions into the atmosphere, because the Machinery Directive does not such aspects.

The legislation

It is also a specific task of the employer to ascertain the effective compliance of the machines put into service, in his company, with the legislative requirements applicable to them. In fact, in accordance with the requirements of article 70 of Legislative Decree 81/08, the employer cannot exempt himself from verifying the conformity of a purchased machine , even if it is CE marked.

In this sense, the evolution of jurisprudence has come to believe that there is a responsibility of the employer even in the case in which the machine is CE marked, if this must in any case be considered non-compliant with the safety requirements due to "obvious and immediately perceptible "(the so-called"obvious defects ") by the employer who has negligently ignored them.

 

Quadra Srl is able to help RSPPs, and purchasing staff, with services such as:

• Drafting of purchase specifications for any type of machine or industrial plant.
• Checking the machinery before putting them into service to highlight any obvious defects.
• Verification of the accompanying documentation of the machinery to ascertain their completeness and adequacy.
• Analysis of compliance by machinery with the requirements of specific technical standards
• Testing of machine safety devices
• Technical-regulatory support in the event of a legal dispute

 

On the problems relating to the purchase of machines we have designed, and deliver, a specific course in UNI.