Standards Development

Scope

This document is applicable to all work activity on electric road vehicles and work machines. The methods described in this document can also be applied to work on similar vehicles with similar electrical systems, such as electric snowmobiles, off-road vehicles or small boats. Such work activity can be, but not limited to, manufacturing, testing, service, repair, roadside assistance, rescue and dismantling of vehicle having an electric traction system or a traction battery of such vehicle. The intention of the document is to promote a gradual alignment in Europe of the basic electrical work safety on electric vehicles and is designed not to conflict with national work safety legislation.

Purpose

In late 1990, a CENELEC group BTTF 62-3 (now: TC 128X) was established to harmonize European work safety practices with electrical installations. As a result, EN 50110 standard series was published, and they have been regularly updated and used widely in CENELEC member countries. The rapidly growing number of electric vehicles and accidents and near-misses with electric vehicle service and repair urges harmonisation of work safety level in Europe. Therefore, a sprint group BTTF 62-3 evaluated 11 electric vehicle work safety standards and guidelines and is recommending to a European standard on Dutch NEN 9140:2024, as the document includes arc flash risk assessment guidelines, which are usually omitted in EV repair standards, although the arc flash risk is present especially in battery repair and all accidents reported in the public are arc flash accidents, not electric shock accidents.

The Dutch NEN standard also has holistic approach on the safe workflow, including the training and planning, deals with not only with repair but also on roadside assistance and emergency and follows the generally accepted principles of EN 50110-1 applied with fixed electrical installations. The NEN standard could be developed into an EN standard with moderate effort, as there are no essential gaps in the standard and the latest version is from year 2024 and is up to date to the current industry. The NEN standard basically needs references to the Dutch national legislation to be removed and adding good and tested national practices from CENELEC member countries.

There is a safety knowledge gap in the automotive sector as electric vehicles have been on the market only ≈ 15 years, only young technicians do have knowledge on EVs and their hazards from the vocational school, but there are many age cohorts of technicians who have no training or experience on electric vehicles. Without a European standard, the current dangerous skills gap will persist, placing lives at risk and undermining the transition to sustainable transport. A standardized approach is not merely desirable — it is essential to ensure safety, quality, workforce readiness, and the successful decarbonization of Europe's transport sector.