QR code access to digital instructions under the Machinery Regulation

Where the marking goes

The machine itself comes first. The packaging or an accompanying document is the fallback, only where marking the machine is not possible, for example on very small products.

Most manufacturers put the QR code on or next to the rating plate. That is where operators and service technicians already look, and it survives as long as the plate does.

What a good marking contains

• A QR code that opens the instructions directly, not your home page.
• A short web address printed under it, for anyone who cannot scan.
• A durable label material: the code must still scan after years in the plant.
• An address you control, so it keeps working when your website changes.

One QR per machine or one per model

Both work. A QR per serial number opens exactly that machine's instructions, in the version that shipped with it. It suits machines built to order or with many variants.

One QR per model is easier to start with: the same label for every unit, and the user enters the serial number to reach the right version. It suits series products.

The right model

The regulation also asks that the instructions clearly describe the model they correspond to. The page the QR opens should therefore show the model name and, for serial-specific pages, the serial number, so nobody reads the manual of a neighbouring variant.

Common mistakes

• The QR opens the home page. The user has to search. Point the code at the instructions themselves.
• The QR points straight at a PDF file. When the file is replaced or the site is rebuilt, the label breaks. Use a stable page address that you can keep for ten years.
• Only the packaging carries the code. Packaging is thrown away on day one. The machine is the first place the regulation names.
• No model on the page. Without the model name, users cannot tell whether they have the right instructions.