The mechanical and machinery sector include technical bodies that deal with different types of industrial and domestic machinery. Some of the industries covered are manufacturing, mining, welding, construction and agriculture. Lifts, tanks and pressure equipment are also covered.
Standards keep the pace of technological development. New technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), are progressively being implemented in fields like automation, data management and as part of smart technology (e.g. additive manufacturing, robotics).
Not only has the sector an important role when it comes to an operator's safety but also contributes to environment protection by developing standards that allow the production of environmentally friendly machines.
Many standards are identical to international standards: this is an important characteristic, since the markets for these products tend to be global, going beyond national or European markets. The mechanical and machinery sector is therefore a good example of bringing together European requirements with an internationally accepted approach.
A considerable proportion of the documents produced in the sector are harmonized standards giving presumption of conformity with the EU Directives on machinery (2006/42/EC), measuring instruments (2014/32/EU) and Non-automatic weighing instruments (2014/31/EU).
The Sector Fora i.e. CEN-CENELEC Sector Forum on Machinery and Pressure Equipment Advisory Nucleus advise Technical Boards and coordinate standardization activities related to the respective field.
