Frequently asked questions about instructions for use

The starting point is the risk assessment: every hazard identified there has to arrive in the instructions, either as a described design solution, as a warning at the relevant task or as a residual risk. Then comes the structure: general information, safety, technical data, machine description, operation, maintenance, inspections, transport, decommissioning, disposal and annex. Write for the specific target group, in steps to be carried out, and in the language of the country of destination. Read in full

Among other things the intended use and foreseeable misuse, residual risks, the required qualification and personal protective equipment, a description of the safeguards, technical data and emission values, plus instructions for transport, installation, commissioning, operation, fault clearance, maintenance, inspection, decommissioning and disposal. On top of that the marking as original instructions or as a translation of them. Read in full

Yes. The Machinery Regulation expressly permits digital provision. The conditions: the way to access them has to be stated, they have to remain available over the expected lifetime of the machine, they have to be downloadable and storable, and the safety information has to be supplied on paper free of charge on request, within one month. Read in full

A QR code on its own is not enough. It is a permitted route of access, but the statement of how the instructions can be reached must be understandable without a working device, and the safety information has to be supplied on paper on request. For non-professional users the safety information has to be enclosed on paper in any case. Read in full

In the official language of the member state where the machine is made available. The fact that the staff on site speak English changes nothing: the obligation attaches to the country, not to the language skills of individual people. When delivering to several countries, all the languages concerned are needed. Read in full

Those derived from the risk assessment, each placed where the hazardous task is described, not collected in the safety chapter. Structure: signal word, nature and source of the hazard, possible consequences, measures to avoid it. The signal words DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION and NOTICE are explained once in the safety chapter. Read in full

For each residual risk the source of the hazard, the possible consequence and the measure the operating company or operator has to take, for instance personal protective equipment, an organisational rule or restricted access. The statements have to match the risk assessment; discrepancies between the two documents are noticed immediately during an inspection. They are the basis for the operating company's own workplace risk assessment. Read in full

It describes design principles: structure the content by life-cycle phases, write for defined target groups, give instructions in the order of execution, place safety information where it is needed, and use consistent terminology and warning structure. It does not prescribe a binding chapter numbering; what is prescribed is the content, not the order. Read in full