The Standards Debate

EN13000 and changes in the USA

Summary of Presentation at CICS Shanghai, China

(Terex Cranes, Klaus Meissner, November 2010)

EN13000 Status

The European safety standard for mobile cranes is in force as EN13000:2010. It is listed as a
harmonized standard; the fulfilment of the standard allows the presumption of conformity, i.e.
the designer can presume that the essential health and safety requirements as listed in the
EC machinery directive are covered. Of course any design of a mobile crane includes the
iterative process of risk analysis which would reveal risks not covered by this standard, but
which may be specific to a particular mobile crane.

Risk reduction is based on a process as laid down by the machinery directive – it simply
follows the three important steps of risk reduction by avoidance, protection and information.
The directive reads as follows:

...1.2 (b) In selecting the most appropriate methods, the manufacturer or his authorised representative
must apply the following principles, in the order given:

- eliminate or reduce risks as far as possible (inherently safe machinery design and
construction),
- take the necessary protective measures in relation to risks that cannot be eliminated,
- inform users of the residual risks due to any shortcomings of the protective measures adopted,
indicate whether any particular training is required and specify any need to provide personal
protective equipment.

To better assess risks on machinery in detail the directive requires

...The manufacturer of machinery or his authorised representative must ensure that a risk assessment
is carried out in order to determine the health and safety requirements which apply to the machinery.
The machinery must then be designed and constructed taking into account the results of the risk
assessment.

By the iterative process of risk assessment and risk reduction referred to above, the manufacturer or
his authorised representative shall:

– determine the limits of the machinery, which include the intended use and any reasonably
foreseeable misuse thereof,
– identify the hazards that can be generated by the machinery and the associated hazardous
situations,
– estimate the risks, taking into account the severity of the possible injury or damage to health
and the probability of its occurrence,
– evaluate the risks, with a view to determining whether risk reduction is required, in
accordance with the objective of this Directive,
– eliminate the hazards or reduce the risks associated with these hazards by application of
protective measures, in the order of priority established in section 1.1.2(b).

The above mentione risk assessment is introduced by the current version of the machinery
directive and as such in force since end of last year; it represents an enhancement of the
previously used hazard analysis required by the previous version of the directive. The new
procedure requires a more detailed approach than before including a detailed evaluation of
each risk prior and after taking measures to reduce the risk.

Risk assessment and fulfilling the requirements of the harmonized standard are
complementary measures and assure that potential risks are covered and reduced according
to the state of the art.

Bridging Device - Override Key

Although EN13000 contains the “magic” sentence as each European standard does,

This European Standard has been prepared to provide one means for mobile cranes to conform with
the essential health and safety requirements of the Machinery Directive

… the recently introduced requirement to eliminate the override key in direct reach of the
operator is not an option, it is seen as mandatory by European health and safety bodies.

The override key in direct reach of the operator is eliminated when a mobile crane is built
according to EN13000:2010. A push button to operate the crane in case of erection and
dismantling (i.e. often without duty chart) or to free the crane from deadlock situation
(increased load capacity at reduced speed) is added. For system failures or emergency
situation, a bridging device under lock and key outside the cabin can be provided.

On the override key there was and still is a controversial discussion, showing the
discrepancies in philosophies on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Whereas Europe pushes
for technical solutions with a rated capacity limiter (RCL) intervening automatically with
higher priority than operators’ intent, North America sees the RCL as operational aid and
puts more emphasis on the responsibility of the operator.

The main concern is the automatic speed reduction activated when RCL is overriden and
which affects all movements increasing the loading condition.

To assess this technical solution based upon feedback from the end users, FEM – the
association of the European lifting equipment manufacturers – together with ESTA – the
European organisation for lifting and transportation, are launching a questionnaire to users of
mobile cranes equipped with an RCL device according to EN13000:2010: The purpose of
this survey is to assess the efficiency of the 2010 solution and to get feedback on issues
observed end users will be asked within a questionnaire.

A further objective of this questionnaire is to clarify whether an improved solution is needed;

This evolution could be based upon the proposal made by European manufacturers and
consisting in an additional one-time emergency override in the direct reach of the operator,
without speed reduction; this one-time overriding needs to be reset by specific means to
restrict its usage to emergencies only.

Next Steps in the Development of EN13000

The FEM-ESTA questionnaire leads directly to next steps in the development of EN13000.
The standard is what I would call “under maintenance”; each European standard has to be
reviewed on a 5 year basis to ensure that changes of the state-of-the-art will be included. As
important technical improvements have to be introduced in the near future and a full revision
would require too much time. Therefore the committee will add these changes by an
amendment of EN13000:2010, planned for 2012. These improvements/changes include the
following major topics besides the review of the bridging device:
 – Introduction of EN 13849 (substitutes EN 954)
– Introduce requirements for outrigger monitoring
– Add further clarification for wind on load and out-of-service conditions
– Add the layout of controls for crawler cranes, as this is not fully covered in the draft
version of ISO 7752

In addition a clarification of the scope of EN 13000 will be needed to avoid overlapping with
other product standards and some smaller amendments/corrections to avoid
misinterpretations of the current wording will be introduced.

In order to speed up the implementation of the EN13000 amnedament a new approach for
the way of working in the group has recently been introduced.Now d users and their
organisation is directly involved in the standards making committee and WG11 has asked
European health and safety organisations for support of the working group meetings; as such
the recent September meeting of WG11 was attended very well.

The main topics in more detail…

Introduction of EN13849

EN13000:2010 still uses EN954 as reference for the “safety related parts of control systems”.
This reference has to be updated with the next version of EN13000 – EN954 is substituted
by EN13849 (which is in force as ISO standard as well). Safety related parts of controls
systems for mobile crane need to be developed according to this standard including the
development of application software with view to ISO61508 part3. EN13849 changes the
design of control systems from a choice of architecture and the related declaration to a
probabilistic view taking into account the so called “mean time to dangerous failure”. As the
application of this standard might have a significant impact on design and building of mobile
cranes, it is recommended to incorporate the methods and principles for all new design per
today to be able to have covered to full product line when the compliance with EN13849
becomes mandatory (in regards to presumption of conformity).

Outrigger Monitoring

CEN Workgroup 11 (WG11) has identified the need for outrigger monitoring on mobile
cranes. As such a new state-of-the-art will be introduced to ensure consistency of physical
setting and settings in the control system. The approach is similar to new requirements laid
down in the US OSHA rule issued this year.

Wind on load and out-of-service conditions

Recent accidents with mobile cranes have unfortunately shown that the effects of wind on
loads are sometimes underestimated by the end users. Especially smaller loads with big sail
areas can generate forces in excess of the loadings imposed by the permitted duties. FEM
issued a warning and urged WG11 to work on further clarification throughout the standard.
Additionally out-of-service conditions will be reviewed to unify the requirements from the view
point of the end user where possible.

Future development of EN13000

Predicting the future development of EN13000 in the dynamic environment driven by rapid
technological progress seems like looking into a crystal ball. Nevertheless some topics which
will be covered in a complete revision following the planned amendment are more or less
obvious.
 Calculation Standards EN13001 Series

WG11 needs to incorporate the calculation standards from the EN13001 series into
EN13000; as such the currently used reference to FEM 5.004 (an international manufacturer
standard) will be reviewed and will probably disappear. Verification is needed that the more
sophisticated approach of EN13001 adds value for the calculation of standard mobile cranes
with a limited number of maximum loadings.

For sure mobile cranes used in excess of the usual lifting applications (comparable few high
loads) with a limited number of maximum loadings as described by the loading collectives
according to FEM and DIN (i.e. instead used in duty cycle application) need a further
clarification and will better be covered by the more detailed approach of EN13001.

Work at Height

EN13000 will certainly mirror the recent developments in the area of “work at height” to
clarify the design requirements for the intended use including erection and disassembly as
well as the regular inspection and maintenance. The objective is to standardize the men-
machine-interfaces to have a consistent approach when work at height (e.g. during assembly
of a lattice boom) cannot be avoided.

New OSHA Rule in Place

The existing OSHA rules cranes known as 1926.550 series have been revised and published
as 1926.1400ff (see www.OSHA.gov ). Requirements addressed to the owner and user
become effective in November 2010, whereas technical requirements become effective
November 2011 earliest.

General Differences between EC Machinery Directive and OSHA Rule

Whereas the EC machinery Directive gives essential health and safety requirements for
equipment to be fulfilled before the equipment is put onto the EU market, the OSHA rules for
cranes give a full set of rules addressing designing, building and using of equipment. In
Europe the responsibilities for enforcing health and safety including the rules to be applied
are still in the hands of the member states. Some of the directives cover specific aspects of
health and safety but the provisions for use, inspection and training of personnel may differ.
As such the Machinery Directive is focused on the design and build of equipment only and
does not take the overall approach of the OSHA rule.

Besides these differences in the approach some commonalities in the technical requirements
can be found:

The structural integrity of mobile cranes can be assessed either by using the experimental
proof according to ANSI standards or by the theoretical proof according to EN13000, which
includes experimental checking as well. EN13000 vice vers offers the possibilitie to conduct
the proof of competence of a steel structure either theoretical or experimental.

OSHA emphasizes the need of outrigger monitoring by either checking the correct settings or
by displaying the actual position to the operator. This topic is currently under discussion in
Europe and will be covered in a similar way in the amendment 2012 of EN13000 as planned.