Noise Directive 2000/14/EG

Directive 2000/14/EC relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors

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Since 1 January 2002, machinery and equipment used outdoors has been subject to Directive 2000/14/EC relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors. The directive aims to make quieter products available to the market.

The directive requires all 63 machinery groups within its scope to be labelled with a CE mark and an indication of the sound power level. The intention is to supply future users with sufficient information regarding the noise emitted by the machine in question.

The "Outdoor Directive", as it is also known, particularly applies to construction equipment but also, for example, to aerial access platforms, power sweepers, cranes and compressors. It specifies methods for measuring the sound power level of all of these groups of machinery as well as the operating conditions under which such measurements should be taken. The manufacturer or the manufacturer's authorised representative established in the Community draws up an EC declaration of conformity for each type of the equipment or machinery produced and adheres the CE mark, which must also include the guaranteed sound power level, to the products.

The directive was transposed into German law through the Equipment and Machinery Regulations of 29 August 2002, which came into force on 6 September 2002.


Fachbereich Bauwesen (Expert committee for the Construction Industry): Notified Body

There are 22 machine categories which have to comply with limit values as well as being labelled with the CE mark. The services of a European notified testing and certification body are required to verify that compliance. The manufacturer or the manufacturer's authorised representative can choose from three conformity assessment procedures, as follows:

  • internal control of production with assessment of technical documentation and periodical checking as described in Annex VI of the directive,
  • unit verification as described in Annex VII of the directive or
  • full quality assurance as describe in Annex VIII of the directive. 

The Commission collects the noise-emission data and publishes it at regular intervals. 

Over the course of many years, the Civil Engineering Berufsgenossenschaft's testing and certification body has accumulated a great deal of expertise in the area of noise measurement, from which manufacturers - and thus the enterprises which use the machines - can benefit. 

The Central Authority of the German Federal States for Safety (ZLS), in close cooperation with the Berufsgenossenschaft's testing and certification body for the construction sector, has now notified the Fachbereich Bauwesen as a testing and certification body for the following equipment and machinery covered by the Outdoor Directive:

  • compaction machines (vibrating rollers, vibratory plates, vibratory rammers) 
  • hand-held concrete-breakers and picks 
  • wheeled dozers 
  • dumpers 
  • excavators, hydraulic or rope-operated 
  • excavator-loaders 
  • graders 
  • landfill compactors, loader-type with bucket 
  • loaders 
  • mobile cranes 
  • paver-finishers 
  • lift trucks, combustion-engine driven, counterbalanced 
  • hydraulic power packs 
  • builders' hoists for the transport of goods 
  • construction winches (combustion-engine driven)
  • tower cranes 
  • power generators 
  • welding generators 
  • compressors 
  • This means that manufacturers can have this equipment and machinery certified within the framework of the DGUV Test organisation too. 

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Contact

Fachbereich Bauwesen
 Prüf- und Zertifizierungsstelle im DGUV Test
Am Knie 6
81241 München
Tel: +49 89 8897-858
Fax: +49 800 668 6688 38470