In 2014, the European Centre for Standardisation (CEN) opened a Technical Committee (TC) related to Structures and Stage Machinery used in the entertainment industry: CEN TC433.

After a few years of work, the TC published a number of standards, one of which is EN 17206: Machinery for stages and other production areas – safety requirements and inspections.

The standard represents today the milestone and the reference norm for the safe design and testing of any machinery used on stages anywhere in Europe.

After a few years the TC published a second standard, EN 17206-2 Part 2: Safety requirements for stands and truss lifts of stands

THE SCOPE OF EN 17206 STANDARDS

This standard, along with its subsequent parts, applies to machinery, machinery installations, and machinery control systems used in places of assembly and staging and production facilities for events and theatrical productions (collectively referred to as “stage machinery”).

Such facilities include theatres, multipurpose halls, exhibition halls; film, television, and radio studios; concert halls, schools, bars, discotheques, open-air stages, and other rooms for shows and events.

The standard applies to machinery designs that fall within and outside the scope of the Machinery Directive and other applicable directives.

It aims to provide a consistent safety concept philosophy for machinery designers, based on specific safety requirements and specifications.