What is BS EN 474‑1 - Safety requirements for earth-moving machinery about?
BS EN 474 is a European standard that discusses safety of earth-moving machinery. Compliance with this safety standard for earth-moving machinery can help prevent occupational hazards.
BS EN 474‑1 is the first part in the series that specifies the general safety requirements for earth-moving machinery described in EN ISO 6165, except rollers and horizontal directional drill.
BS EN 474‑1 also applies to derivative machinery designed primarily for use with equipment to loosen, pick up, move, transport, distribute and grade earth and rock.
Note: BS EN 474‑1 does not deal with towing of trailers.
Note: BS EN 474‑1 is not applicable to earth moving machines, which are manufactured before the date of publication of this European Standard by CEN.
Who is BS EN 474‑1 – Safety requirements for earth-moving machinery for?
BS EN 474‑1 on earth-moving machinery is relevant to:
- Machine manufacturers
- Entities involved in commissioning, maintenance and operation of earth-moving machinery
- Regulators, accident prevention organizations
- Site managers
- Machine operators and trainers
- Supervisors
- Construction and mining industry
Why should you use BS EN 474‑1 - Safety requirements for earth-moving machinery?
Earth-moving machinery and other heavy equipment assist in the speeding up of not only earthwork but also materials handling, demolition, and construction. Many types of heavy construction equipment are designed to serve different purposes, as a result of which they are critical for completion of construction projects. However, improper use and control failure of these machines present several risks.
BS EN 474-1 covers all the significant hazards, hazardous situations and events, identified by risk assessment as common to two or more machinery families and which require action to eliminate or reduce the risk. Some of the hazards identified are:
- Mechanical hazard
- Thermal hazard
- Electrical hazard
- Hazard generated by noise, vibration and radiation
- Failure of control circuit and power supply
- Overturning of machinery
By providing the requirements for optimal performance of earth-moving machinery, BS EN 474-1 can help establish operational stability and reliability of earth-moving machinery, while successfully minimizing the incidence of occupational hazards arising from improper use or product failure.