Safety of packaging machines: pallet wrapping machines

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Pallet wrapping machines are used extensively in Europe, in an increasingly wide range of industries. The main tasks are: securing of palletised or unpalletised loads to prevent them from collapsing and displacing during transport, handling, storage; pooling of loads and parts to form loads suitable for transport; protection against external influences and conditional protection against theft.
These machines contain several significant hazards and have the potential to cause serious injury. In order to help manufacturers to prove conformity to the essential requirements of the machinery directive 2006/42/EC, CEN has been mandated to develop a number of standards for the safety of packaging machines. ‘NEN-EN 415 Safety of packaging machines’ consists of nine parts.
In June 2013 NEN-EN 415-6 was published for the safety of pallet wrapping machines. This standard supersedes NEN‑EN 415‑6:2007+A1:2009. This standard deals with safety requirements for machine design, construction, installation, commissioning, operation, adjustment, maintenance and cleaning of pallet wrapping machines. The standard contains a list of hazards and the corresponding applicable subclauses, for example mechanical hazards and electrical hazards. In the subclauses the safety requirements and/or protective measures are given. For each safety requirement the standards indicate how to verify this. This shall be done by performing a functional test and/or by measurement and/or by calculation. This standard applies to the eleven different groups of machines, including stretch film pallet wrapping machines, shrink film hood application machines and product centralising machines.
This standard is not applicable to pallet strapping machines and destrapping machines. These machines are within the scope of EN 415-8.