BS EN 703:2021

What is BS EN 703 about?  

BS EN 703 specifies the safety requirements and their verification for the design and construction of agricultural machinery. Machinery includes mounted, semi-mounted, trailed, or self-propelled machines that have a combination of two or more of the following functions: loading, mixing, chopping, and distributing silage and/or other feedstuffs or materials used for animal bedding such as straw, to be used by one operator only. It includes those fitted with a built-in loading crane.

In addition, it specifies the type of information on safe working practices (including residual risks) to be provided by the manufacturer. 

BS EN 703 applies only to machines that have the following functional combinations: 

• Mixing and distributing functions 
• Mixing, chopping, and distributing functions 
• Loading, mixing, and distributing functions 
• Loading, mixing, chopping, and distributing functions 
• Chopping and distributing functions 
• Loading, chopping, and distributing functions 
• Silage block cutters, even if they carry out a single function 

Note 1: BS EN 703 does not apply to: 

• Machines that pick up green fodder directly from the field 
• Loading cranes 
• Silage buckets 
• Round or rectangular unbalers 

Note 2: BS EN 703 deals with the significant hazards, hazardous situations, and events relevant to machines for loading, mixing, and/or chopping and distributing silage and/or other feedstuffs, when they are used as intended and under the conditions foreseen by the manufacturer as listed in Clause 4, except for the hazards arising from: 

• Failure of the control circuit 
• Inadequate seating 
• Inadequate lighting 
• Traveling of machinery 
• Break-up of parts rotating at high speed 
• Cutting hazard during service on sharp parts 

 Note 3: BS EN 703 is not applicable to environmental hazards (except noise). 

Note 4: BS EN 703 does not deal with stability when traveling. 

Who is BS EN 703 for? 

BS EN 703 on agricultural machinery is applicable to: 

• Machine manufacturers (small, medium, and large enterprises) 
• Health and safety bodies (regulators, accident prevention organizations, market surveillance, etc.) 

Others can be affected by the level of machinery safety achieved with the means of the document by the above-mentioned stakeholder groups: 

• Machine users/employers (small, medium, and large enterprises) 
• Machine users/employees (eg trade unions, organizations for people with special needs) 
• Service providers, (eg. for maintenance (small, medium, and large enterprises) 
• Consumers (in the case of machinery intended for use by consumers) 

Why should you use BS EN 703?  

Modern farmers use a variety of machinery to easily and efficiently carry out farm work. Present-day technology and machinery are extremely specialized and designed to perform many different tasks that were required manual labour. However, these mechanical systems share many of the same hazards that could cause serious injury when misused.  

BS EN 703 determines the safety requirements of agricultural machines as safety training gives its users the awareness and information they need to reduce safety hazards and protect individuals. 

This standard benefits the users by preventing unplanned downtime, which when occurs, can be costly and disrupt the supply chain due to delays.  

BS EN 703 in conjunction with referenced with several other international standards plays a vital role in identifying and mitigating hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events such as: 

• Crushing hazard 
• Shearing hazard 
• Cutting or severing hazard 
• Entanglement hazard 
• Drawing-in or trapping hazard 
• High voltage 
• Fire or explosion 

By complying with BS EN 703, you will be able to prevent or minimize damage arising from various hazards and protect individuals working on or around the machinery. By equipping the best practices for the agricultural sector, you can achieve increased operational efficiency, economies of scale due to minimal disruptions, and long service life of your equipment. As a result, seamless operation across the supply chain of the end-product will improve your credibility and market reach.  

What’s changed since the last update?  

 BS EN 703:2021 supersedes EN 703:2004+A1:2009. BS EN 703:2021 includes some technical changes with respect to EN 703:2004+A1:2009. These include: 

• Update the normative references 
• Clarification of the scope (excludes silage buckets) 
• Improvement of the safety requirements in particular regarding controls, visibility, protection against cutting tools, blockages, loading door, an inspection of mixing, access (addition of feedstuffs), conveyors, access to turbines 
• Addition of new clauses on jacking points, brakes, stability and immobilization, remote control, electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC), completion of instructions, safety signs 
• Addition of new subclauses to refer to the relevant clauses of EN ISO 4254-1:2015 that apply without change or exclusion