Essential requirements (ch. 1)Amended requirement
1.1.6 · Ergonomics
Annex III, 1.1.6 · Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 ·
What it requires
1.1.6 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 requires: reduce operator discomfort, fatigue and physical and psychological stress by applying ergonomic principles; adapted interface, including for machinery with self-evolving behaviour, which must communicate its planned actions. It has changed compared with Directive 2006/42/EC and applies to machinery placed on the market from 20 January 2027.
What changes compared with Directive 2006/42/EC
New points (b) (postures and forces) and (f)–(g) on the interface and communication of machinery with self-evolving logic and varying levels of autonomy.
What the instruction manual must reflect
Workstations, postures and effort, work rate, HMI description; where there is autonomy/AI: how the machine communicates what it is going to do and why.
If your manual was written for Directive 2006/42/EC, it probably doesn't cover this requirement. Upload it and we'll check it for free alongside the other 108.
Check my manual for free →Official text
Under the intended conditions of use, the discomfort, fatigue and physical and psychological stress faced by the operator shall be eliminated or reduced to the minimum possible, taking into account at least, the following ergonomic principles: (a) allowing for the variability of the operator’s physical dimensions, strength and stamina; (b) avoiding the need for demanding work postures or movements and manual force exertions that exceed the operator’s capacity; (c) providing enough space for movements of the parts of the operator’s body; (d) avoiding a machine-determined work rate; (e) avoiding monitoring that requires lengthy concentration; (f) adapting the human-machine interface to the foreseeable characteristics of the operators, including with respect to machinery or a related product with intended fully or partially self-evolving behaviour or logic that is designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy; (g) where relevant, adapting machinery or a related product with intended fully or partially self-evolving behaviour or logic that is designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy to respond to people adequately and appropriately (such as verbally through words and non-verbally through gestures, facial expressions or body movement) and to communicate its planned actions (such as what it is going to do and why) to operators in a comprehensible manner.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, OJ L 165, 29.6.2023, Annex III, 1.1.6. The sections ‘What it requires’ and ‘What the instruction manual must reflect’ are our own summary and do not replace the official text.