The Importance Of CE Marking On Platform Lifts

It need only be five millimetres high but it is a legal requirement that many products sold in the European union bear the CE mark. Fixing the mark to a product and signing the declaration of conformity is a statement by the manufacturer that the product meets the requirements of the relevant European directives and national standards. In this article we will concentrate on the requirements as they apply to higher travel platform lifts.

For certain categories of equipment, platform lifts included, an independent assessment has to be made by a government notified body. This is to confirm that the product meets the requirements laid out in the EC directives. If the manufacturer is based outside the EU, the importer is responsible for CE marking.

The specific directives which apply to platform lifts are the Machinery and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) directives, numbered 98/37/EC and 89/336/EEC respectively. Additionally, platform lifts for disabled access are the subject of a British standard - BS6440.

The primary function of the EC directives and BS6440 is to ensure that platform lifts are well designed and built and that they are fit for the purpose for which they are sold. Also that reasonable precautions are in place to protect the user against injury.

BS6440 relates specifically to platform lifts because, unlike traditional lifts, a platform lift has no lift car. It consists of a platform, which moves within a stationary shaft. A poorly constructed shaft could, therefore, be a source of potential hazards.

Machinery, in the case of the directive, means an assembly of linked parts, at least one of which moves. Reasonable precautions mean that when the machinery is properly installed, maintained and used for its intended purpose, there is no risk of it endangering health or causing injury.

A platform lift, with a travel of greater than two metres, consists of two main assemblies - the platform itself and the shaft within which the platform moves. The CE mark, as applied to our products, covers the complete unit, ie. the platform and its shaft which we prefabricate and erect on site. The CE mark is a declaration that all reasonable precautions have been taken to avoid the risk of injury to users.

In other circumstances, a platform lift could be supplied without an integral enclosure to be installed within a shaft constructed by a third party, for example a builder. In this situation the platform lift assembly will be CE marked but the shaft will not.

From our experience it is highly likely that the builder will be unaware of the importance of the tight tolerances required in the production of the shaft. Even if they are and can work to them they will not seek type approval of the shaft once complete. This then is a situation fraught with danger. It may even result in an unsafe installation.

In these circumstances, the unknowing building owner or operator will see a CE mark on the platform lift and will assume that the complete installation complies with the safety requirements of 98/37/EC and BS6440. However the CE mark on the platform lift is no guarantee that the complete installation meets the specification laid down in the standards. The regulations state:

The clearance from the edge of the platform or guide rail to the adjacent shaft wall should be less than 10mm to prevent trapping of body parts, while the platform is moving.

Each wall of the shaft should be a smooth continuous vertical surface and should have no projections greater than 5mm.

The walls should be capable of withstanding a force of 300 Newtons, equivalent to the impact of a fully-laden wheelchair.

The shaft enclosure should extend at least two metres above the upper floor level.

Landing access doors shall be provided with a vision panel, at least 60mm wide and with its lower edge between 300 and 900mm above the floor level.

Obviously, if these, and the other requirements of the standards, are not satisfied, the installation cannot be deemed to be safe. It could constitute a risk to users and other people in its vicinity. The only way to be certain that the installation is fully compliant is to ascertain that the complete unit including its shaft have been type tested against the specific criteria for CE marking.