Noise Emission of Outdoor Equipment Directive

Title

Directive 2000/14/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 8 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors.

Purpose

The Directive is enacted under Article 100a of the Treaty of Rome (Article 95 of the Treaty of Amsterdam) so its fundamental purpose is to remove barriers to trade and make the requirements for the sale of equipment within its scope the same throughout the EEA.

The Directive replaces a wide range of individual pieces of legislation associated with acoustic noise emission in the various member states of the EU. It attempts to make it easier for manufacturers to sell their products across the whole community by ensuring that the noise performance requirements for the machines within its scope are the same in all member states.

The Directive also introduces a downward pressure on noise emissions by placing limits on certain types of equipment in two stages, the limits for stage 2, which came into force in 2006, being quieter than those for stage 1. In practice this has proved more difficult to achieve than the original Directive envisaged.

Scope

The directive applies to a list of 57 specified types of apparatus. The list includes a wide variety of mobile equipment which is intended for use outdoors, and applies irrespective of the source of power. In practice, most equipment powered by diesel or petrol engines and much equipment which is electrically powered and which is used outdoors is covered in one way or another. Typical examples are lawnmowers, generators, welders, construction equipment, agricultural and forestry equipment as well as building site and earth moving equipment.

Exact definitions of each type of equipment are contained in Annex 1 of the Directive. If a piece of equipment does not fall within any of the definitions then it is not within the scope of this directive.

There are certain specific exclusions, including vehicles intended to be used on road, rail, air or waterways and equipment for military and police purposes.

Directive history

The Directive came into force on 3 January 2002 and replaced a number of previous directives, each of which covered a specific type of equipment. The directives repealed are:

• 79/113/ EEC and 84/532/EEC on Construction Plant Equipment
• 84/533/EEC on Compressors
• 84/534/EEC on Tower Cranes
• 84/535/EEC on Welding Generators
• 84/536/EEC on Power Generators
• 84/537/EEC on Concrete Breakers
• 84/538/EEC on Lawnmowers
• 86/662/EEC on Hydraulic Excavators

It's important to understand, however, that the scope of 2000/14/EC includes much equipment which was not within the scope of the older directives.

In 2005, the 2000 Directive was amended by 2005/88/EC. The function of this was to allow the time frame for the stage 2 noise limits to slip for some of the categories of machinery on list 1.

Unfortunately, there is no consolidated text which incorporates the amended requirements into those of the original Directive so it is necessary to review both 2000/14/EC and 2005/88/EC to have a full picture of the current legislation. .

Enforcement and penalties

The enforcement agency for the Regulations in the UK is the National Measurement and Regulation Office (NMRO). Their enforcement authority has the power to enter premises and demand sight of equipment and its associated documentation, and also has the power to impound equipment. The maximum sentence for an offence under the Regulations is a fine of up to £5000 and three months in prison.

Requirements

The key requirement of the Directive is that the noise level from machines must be measured and marked on the machinery using a specified form of label.

The noise value marked on the machines must be the ‘guaranteed noise level’ which means that where machines are produced in number, none of them are permitted to exceed the noise level given by the marking. Therefore, it is necessary to test a number of machines in order to give a statistically valid measurement, or add a factor to allow for variations between different units if only a small number are tested.

The Directive defines the test methods which have to be used to determine the noise level from a machine and these are based on a number of harmonised standards, as well as detailed conditions given in the Directive. Manufacturers of equipment in either list are responsible for ensuring that the noise measurements on their equipment are made according to the requirements of the standards and are documented accordingly.

In addition to the requirement to label the machine with the guaranteed sound power level, manufacturers must compile a technical file to show that the measurements were made in accordance with the specified test methods and they must also complete a Declaration of Conformity for each piece of equipment. The Declaration must include details of the procedures followed and of the noise values measured. The CE logo must also be applied to the machine to show compliance with the directive, although in practice the machinery will already have to show the logo under the other directives which apply to it.

Uniquely, the Directive also requires that a copy of the Declaration of Conformity showing the noise values for the machinery must be sent to both the European Commission in Brussels and to the responsible authority of the EU member state in which the manufacturer is based. Declarations can be sent electronically; this link has the details for the European Commission and for the UK, Declarations may be emailed to the NMRO via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. It is understood that the intention is to gather information on the environmental noise performance of equipment across the community rather than as an enforcement exercise, but our experience is that incorrectly completed Declarations have the potential to draw the attention of the enforcing agency.

For machinery listed on article 12, compliance with the Directive will require the involvement of an independently accredited laboratory (a “notified body”). For most equipment one of two procedures can be followed. In the first the manufacturer must have an accredited quality management system which covers the measurement of noise of their products and controls any noise sensitive factors in the manufacturing process. The notified body role is to provide accreditation for the quality control system. In the second route, the manufacture can simply perform the tests themselves and then present the results to the notified body along with the Technical File. The notified body will check that the results demonstrate that the noise emissions from the machinery are below the limits set in the Directive, and will check that the method used to make the measurements is in accordance with the requirements of the appropriate standard.

Machinery listed on article 13 can be self-certified by the manufacturer but it important to realise that the test methods and documentation defined in the Directive must be followed and the enforcement authorities have the power to take action against a manufacturer who fails to follow the correct procedures or to document them properly.

It is not clear why some equipment was felt to be needful of mandatory limits and independently audited testing procedures while other equipment was not, but it would appear that in general the equipment which requires notified body involvement is that which was already subject to some restrictions under preceding legislation

Implementation

The Directive is implemented in the UK by The Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for use Outdoors Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/1701).

Future developments

Almost all the 57 types of equipment covered by this directive are also in the scope of the machinery directive. The European Commission is therefore considering whether there is a case for merging the two directives. The Commission is currently making an assessment of conclusions drawn by a group of consultants in early 2014, before making a decision on the appropriate way forward.

Useful links

The European Commission have a special section on noise with much useful information on their EUROPA server. This includes the full text of the directive, guidance notes and a database of information taken from submitted Declarations of Conformity.

The UK government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have a section of their website with a number of useful guides which can be downloaded.

The National Measurement and Regulation Office is the UK enforcement body.

Useful information on noise may also be found on the Health and Safety Executive web site.

Links to bodies notified under the Directive can be found on our Notified Bodies page and in the Commission’s NANDO database.

Further advice

As with all CE marking directives, the actual requirements for any piece of equipment under the directive are complex and dependent on not only the design but also the type of user, the intended use and sometimes even what is claimed in the instructions or sales literature.

For further advice specific to your products, please contact us at Conformance and we will be pleased to discuss your needs. If you'd like us to prepare a no-obligation quote for assisting you with CE marking your products, download an Enquiry Form and send it to us by post.