Inter Connections Between Ergonomics And EU Machinery Directive – A Standpoint Of The Federation Of European Ergonomics Societies (FEES)

Abstract

The topic of this paper is the EU Machinery Directive (MD) and the contribution of ergonomics and the Federation of European Ergonomics Societies (FEES) to the development of this Directive. At the beginning, the contribution of FEES to the process of development of this Directive is considered through the analysis of the activities of this European organization so far. Then, the key changes envisaged by the new MD were discussed, as well as the possible consequences of the planned changes. Aspects of the inclusion of artificial intelligence in MD, as well as the effects of MD on Industry 4.0 have also been taken into account. In addition, certain future possible contributions of ergonomics for the improvement of MD have been identified, primarily those based on the analysis of errors in the human - machine system.