Cableways Impact Assessment Study - Final Report - saferail.nl

Risk & Policy Analysts
3.3 Impacts in Relation to the Cableways Sector
3.3.1 Impacts of Standardisation and Product Variety
A key impact of the Cableways Directive has been in the area of product
standardisation. The adoption of the Directive has driven the standardisation process
at the European level. Between 2000 and 2005, the CEN Technical Committee
responsible for cableway installations developed harmonised standards relevant to
cableway installations designed to carry persons. There are currently twenty-three
harmonised standards in the field of cableway installations and references to these
standards are published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Several consultees highlighted that, prior to the Directive, products were based on
different requirements in different countries; however, since the introduction of the
Directive, the market is now supplied with standardised products. As noted in EC
(2011), harmonising the conformity assessment procedures of safety components and
subsystems and promoting the establishment of harmonised standards at the European
level has made economies of scale possible.
While this product standardisation has its advantages, it may have impacted
manufacturers of niche and/or customised products. A cableways manufacturer noted
that there are now a smaller number of products with much less product variety and
this can be directly attributable to the Directive. In this regard, it has also been
observed that manufacturers of customised products which are technically similar to
those falling under the Cableways Directive appear keen to distance their products
from the scope of the Cableways Directive (and into other legislation such as the
Machinery Directive or national legislation relating to amusement attractions, for
instance). In addition, a cableway manufacturer noted that that the relevant standards
do not sufficiently account for specificities of small ski lifts (so-called handle tow and
rope-tow lifts).
In addition, the International Federation of Ski Lift Operators (FIANET) stated that
the current market situation is such that it is virtually impossible to mix and match
components from various manufacturers and each installation is therefore sourced
from a single manufacturer. It is further accused that the Directive has strengthened
the bargaining power of cableway manufacturers at the expense of operators, and for
example, restricted the choice available to operators with regard to replacement parts.
Overall, it may be deduced that product standardisation has also created
opportunities for increased economies of scale which have been of benefit to the
EU cableways sector but product variety may have reduced as a result of the
Directive.
3.3.2 Impact on SMEs, Costs and Innovation
As noted in Section 2, in general, many SME cableway manufacturers focus on the
installation of less complicated and smaller cableways in the form of drag lifts and
basic chairlifts. Based on Table 2.22, it can be assumed that of the 32 SME cableway
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