BS EN 690:2013

What is BS EN 690 - Safety of manure spreaders about? 

BS EN 690 is a standard covering the safety of manure spreaders, enabling risk reduction and prevention of hazards in agricultural applications. 

BS EN 690 used together with EN ISO 4254-1, specifies the safety requirements and their verification for the design and construction of self-propelled, mounted, semi-mounted and trailed manure spreaders, provided with vertical or horizontal axes rotors rear spreader device or with vertical axes disc rear spreader device. 

The requirements of BS EN 690 take precedence over the requirements of EN ISO 4254-1 for machines that have been designed and built according to the provisions of this document. 

BS EN 690 specifies the type of information on safe working practices to be provided by the manufacturer. 

Note: BS EN 690 does not cover - 

• Hazards from vibrations of self-propelled machinery 
• Hazards from travelling function of self-propelled machinery 
• Hazards from overturning in regard to the protection of the operator at the driving station of a self-propelled machine 
• Hazards related to conveying devices other than those defined in 3.3.1 and 3.3.2, for example, load push/push-off device 
• Environmental hazards and road safety 
• Manure spreaders manufactured before the date of its publication 

Who is BS EN 690 - Safety of manure spreaders for? 

BS EN 690 on the safety of manure spreaders applies to: 

• Manufacturers of manure spreaders 
• Dealers and importers of manure spreaders 
• Testing houses for manure spreaders 
• Safety assurance services 

Why should you use BS EN 690 - Safety of manure spreaders? 

A manure spreader machine is used for transporting and spreading manure and other mainly non-liquid organic products or soil improvers (e.g., lime) on the field. These are agricultural machines that are used to distribute manure uniformly across farmland and farms. Farmers can control the fertility of their soil and maintain its quality by using manure spreaders. 

BS EN 690 provides users guidance on safety requirements for manure spreaders, including the location of manual controls, protection against projectiles, conveyor, means of access, removal of spreading device, transmission shafts, cleaning, special tools and noise, ensuring the safety of operator and machines in agricultural applications. 

BS EN 690 provides users guidance on information for use, operator’s manual, markings, safety and instruction signs of manure spreaders, enabling the standardization of information disclosure, operational instructions and safety protocols. 

With obedience and compliance to BS EN 690, users can develop and assess manure spreaders, enabling risk reduction and development of safety protocols for the safety operability and longevity in agricultural applications. 

What’s changed since the last update? 

BS EN 690:2013 supersedes BS EN 690:1994+A1:2009, which is now withdrawn. 

Changes in BS EN 690:2013 include – 

• Scope: inclusion of self-propelled, mounted, semi-mounted and trailed manure spreaders, except spreaders with lateral spreading 
• Update of Normative References, means of access and noise 
• New requirements on the prevention of unintentional contact with moving spreading device 
• New requirements regarding design for cleaning and maintenance operations 
• New requirements regarding design and guarding of conveyor