Machine safety CE marking and occupational health rules in the sewing workshop

The sewing machine may seem harmless compared to heavy industrial machinery, but it is still covered by the same basic safety rules that apply to all machinery equipment sold and used in the EU. Behind the small CE mark on the machine's nameplate lies a whole set of rules designed to protect the person using it.

§Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC

European Parliament and Council Directive 2006/42/EC on machinery—known as the Machinery Directive—sets common requirements for safety and health for machinery marketed in the EU. The purpose is twofold: to ensure a high level of protection for those who use the machines, and at the same time to ensure that machinery can be sold and used freely across the EU's internal market.

§What does CE marking mean for you in practice?

When an industrial sewing machine is CE-marked, it means the manufacturer has assessed the risks—for example, at the needle, the drive belt, and the moving parts—and has built in protection such as finger guards, safety guards, and the option for quick stop. As a user, you must not remove or bypass the protection the machine is equipped with, no matter how much faster it feels to work without it.

§The Labour Authority's role

In Denmark it is the Working Environment Authority that supervises that the machinery directive's requirements are complied with at the workplace and the authority publishes guidance on how to understand and use the rules in practice — among other things on CE-marked machines in general. The employer is responsible for the machines at the workplace being legal correctly maintained and that employees are trained in safe use.

• 01Use only the machine's built-in safety equipment — never remove or force out finger guards
• 02Report immediately if a guard is missing, damaged or malfunctions
• 03Be properly trained before using a new machine or special machine
• 04Remember that the responsibility for legal machines lies with the employer — but the use of safety equipment is your daily responsibility

§What do you do yourself?

As an employee you are not responsible for the machine being correctly CE marked from the factory — but you are responsible for using it as intended and for saying if something seems wrong or unsafe. Good workplace practice involves both: legal machinery and common sense in their daily use.

“The CE mark tells that the machine is built to be safe — not that it remains so if you bypass the protections.”