CENELEC has published the 2nd edition of Guide 32 – ‘Guidelines for Safety-Related Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction for Low Voltage Equipment’, providing updated guidance to hazard identification, risk assessment, and risk reduction. The guide helps technical committees address the safety of low voltage equipment and determine the documentation needed to support the risk assessment. It reinforces the principle that safety should be addressed through an iterative risk assessment process supported by technical data, application experience, and relevant standards.
The revised guide serves as an essential reference for all Technical Committees (TCs) developing standards under the Low Voltage Directive (2014/35/EU), while also supporting electrical safety requirements relevant to the Radio Equipment Directive (2014/53/EU). Furthermore, the CENELEC Guide 32 was prepared in response to the Standardization Request M/511, intended as a practical tool for CENELEC TCs, particularly when developing harmonized standards with associated Annex ZZ provisions for citation in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). While not itself a means of demonstrating conformity, it supports a consistent and transparent approach to addressing the essential safety objectives of the Low Voltage Directive (LVD).
The new version of the CENELEC Guide 32, developed by the CENELEC Coordination Group on Low Voltage Directive (CLC/COG LVD), updates the 1st edition published in 2014 to reflect technological developments and emerging safety considerations. One of the key tasks of the CLC/COG LVD during its mandate was to maintain CENELEC Guide 32 by incorporating safety requirements aimed at protecting children from electrical, mechanical, and other relevant hazards, based on ANEC’s recommendations of September 2024. The following hazard categories have been identified as particularly significant:
- Entrapment hazards (gaps and openings) which include the risk of entrapment of fingers, limbs or other body parts due to inappropriate dimensions, clearances or accessible openings;
- Ingestion and choking hazards (small parts) based on EN 71-1 ‘Safety of Toys – Mechanical and Physical Properties’ covering very young children; and
- Suffocation hazards (packaging and labels) which include risks arising from flexible packaging materials, films, labels or other components that may obstruct breathing or create an airtight enclosure.
During the overview of the 1st edition of the CENELEC Guide 32, the following items were also incorporated to address hazard scenarios that were previously not covered by the document: (1) storage and transport conditions, (2) unintended and remote operation, (3) utility functions intended to limit harm, (4) voltage dips and interruptions, and (4) the use of warnings or symbols for non-evident risks.
With this publication, CLC/COG LVD continues to strengthen the horizontal safety framework supporting European electrotechnical standardization, ensuring that standards remain aligned with evolving technologies, regulatory expectations, and safety challenges.
It is important to note that the French and German translations are also on the way and will be published in the coming months on the CENELEC Boss Page. A new a training is planned toward the end of 2026 by CLC/COG LVD. All interested stakeholders are invited to check the CEN and CENELEC Events page for future details. Moreover, the CENELEC Guide 32 will soon be considered for IEC adoption as well.
Attila UNHAUZER
AUnhauzer@cencenelec.eu
