The workshop equipment specialist Maha has announced that by the end of the year it intends to complete the full implementation of EN 17003 in its testing technology. With this, the company aims to be among the first manufacturers to meet this standard. In addition, Maha wants to extend the application beyond the scope of validity. EN 17003 is a European standard that sets safety requirements for roller brake test stands for heavy road vehicles (gross vehicle weight over 3.5 tons). Vehicles of this category can, however, also be tested on conventional passenger car testing stands. Therefore, at the specialist's facility in the future all test stand series will
be treated identically. Peter Geigle, managing director at Maha, explains:
„Safety is for us not a matter of the application area, but a fundamental requirement. Therefore we equip all of our test stands so that they comply with EN 17003.“
EN 17003 measures
- Protection of floor openings: If the floor openings between the rollers are not to be traversed by vehicles, they must be secured, for example by rigid coverings.
- Fixed coverings (bridges): Between the rollers and the contact thresholds there must be fixed coverings installed that are high enough to allow even the smallest intended vehicle wheels to roll freely.
- Application of machine safety principles: The machines and
- their design must comply with the principles of EN ISO 12100 for risk assessment.
Additional accessories
With the transition to EN 17003, all normative protective measures are to be implemented.
From axle presence detection through access protection to emergency stop functions and adjustments in the test sequence. For full compliance with the standard, the supplier provides additional accessories:
- Emergency stop devices in various variants
- Guard rails for the area beside the roller sets
- Pit safety covers in different designs
In this way, operators should be able to adapt their systems flexibly to local conditions while ensuring full conformity with the standard. According to the manufacturer, operators should benefit from
the following points:
- Legal certainty and minimization of liability through proven safety technology
- Practical solutions that combine safety, efficiency and flexibility
- Prevention of downtime through market surveillance measures
- Protection against costly retrofits when the Machinery Regulation comes into force in 2027
Flexibility should be preserved
Despite compliance with the standard, operators should still have a certain flexibility in application. The frequently used automatic roller start can continue to be used, which would in principle exclude EN 17003. For this, the operator must create a risk assessment that documents the necessary protective measures. Maha makes clear that in this case the responsibility for safety lies with the operator. (Source: Maha)
