Cableways Impact Assessment Study - Final Report - saferail.nl

IA Study Concerning the Revision of the Cableways Directive
manufacturers, approximately two-thirds may be producing drag lifts and basic
chairlifts.
With regard to SME suppliers of subsystems and safety components, a manufacturer
of electronic components suggested that companies other than the large cableway
manufacturers tend to be concentrated in niche and/or customised product areas.
Linked to the above, a small cableways manufacturer highlighted the cost of obtaining
the necessary approvals required for product innovation. This may act as a deterrent
to product innovations.
Costs of complying with the Directive were however also accrued by large
manufacturers. According to a Doppelmayr-Garaventa publication, in order to
comply with Directive 2000/9/EC, preparation of the documentation for the
assessment of conformity for a grip (this is assumed to refer to a component which
attaches a cable car to a cable) took 300 hours; while preparing the necessary
documentation for a new sheave assembly (this is assumed to refer to the part of the
cableway consisting of multiple sheaves suspending and guiding the rope and the
cable car in a certain direction) took 18,000 hours over an 18 month period
(Doppelmayr-Garaventa, 2005). Additional burden arising from the Directive was
also identified by a component manufacturer.
One manufacturer even alleged that some cableways may simply not have been built
due to the Directive. A similar point was also made by the Administration of
Occupational Health and Safety in Iceland which stated that a cableway was built in
Iceland recently but because of the Cableways Directive it was only designated for
transport of goods, rather than people, which meant that it could be included under the
Machinery Directive rather than under the Cableways Directive.
FIANET pointed to an increase in prices paid for cableways by operators. It was
stated that the cost increase attributable to the Directive (i.e. excluding inflation) can
be estimated at 20%. It was further stated that this occurred against the backdrop of
weak revenues generated by ski resorts, leading to some operators putting off
investment.
3.3.3 Impacts on International Trade
The adoption of the Directive has led to an improvement in the positioning and
visibility of the EU cableway sector internationally (EC, 2011). European
harmonised standards appear to be accepted in many non-European export markets
(with the exception of North America) and, as such, European manufacturers have a
competitive advantage with regard to exports to third countries. With regard to
imports from non-EU countries, a small rope manufacturer noted that the Directive
helped them in relation to their competitors from the Far East who have not been able
to undergo a conformity assessment. Overall, the Cableways Directive could be said
to have had positive impacts in terms of international trade.
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