As one of the BRICS countries, Brazil is a country of particular interest to German mechanical and plant engineering: machine imports into the South American country have increased rapidly over the last few years. However, a totally new Machinery Safety Directive in Brazil presents some challenges to German machine builders. The impact that the changed safety requirements will have on exports to the country, retrofits of existing plants and general market opportunities remains unclear.
As a newly industrialised country, South America”s largest, most populated country (190 M inhabitants) is well on its way to becoming an industrial nation. The country’s economy is booming. The foundation for this upturn was laid in the 90s with numerous economic reforms. Currently the world”s tenth largest national economy, experts believe that it will progress to 5th spot within the next 30 years, overtaking Germany.
The national industrial health and safety regulations in Brazil are monitored by the Ministry of Labour. They are based on the Consolidated Labour Law (CLT), which came into force in the 40s. CLT standardises the labour law in Brazil and thereby regulates individual and collective industrial relations. Within this statutory regulation, the regulatory standards known as NRs define the procedures necessary to guarantee safety in the workplace. NRs have a certain similarity with the European directives, as they contain specific statutory regulations that require implementation. Their scope must be verified via a reference to standards.
The main aim of the new standard is to ensure that a new generation of machines is inherently safe, with full data in terms of transport, application, maintenance and disposal. At the same time, the standard stipulates measures to be taken to adapt existing machinery. The standard also sets out the requirements for planned preventive maintenance. Requirements for scrapping old machinery are also defined in order to prevent the sale of obsolete machinery, which does not comply with safety regulations. The regulations stipulate that before a machine is resold it must be upgraded to meet the safety standards.
