What does the EN 13557 crane control standard cover?
EN 13557 governs the interface the operator touches on cranes: levers, buttons, pedals and their layout. Control system circuits and noise are out of scope.
EN 13557 sets out the health and safety design requirements for control devices and control stations on cranes of every type. Its subject is not the circuits of the control system but the interface the operator touches with their hand: which lever performs which movement, the layout of the buttons, the logical correspondence between the direction of movement and the direction of the control, marking, and the working position of the operator.
Scope boundaries
- Within the scope: levers, joysticks, buttons, pedals, touch interfaces; the fixed control cabin, ground control and remote control stations.
- Outside the scope: noise and cabin sound insulation.
- Elsewhere: control systems are addressed in EN IEC 60204-32 and EN 13135; the requirements specific to a wireless link are in IEC/EN 62745.
Which question goes to which standard
What wastes the most time on site is asking the question of the wrong standard.
| Question | Relevant area |
|---|---|
| Is the button layout and the labelling correct? | This standard |
| Are the panel circuits and the electrical equipment suitable? | The electrical equipment of lifting machines standard |
| What should happen when the wireless link breaks? | The wireless control systems standard |
| How should the emergency stop be designed? | Emergency stop design principles |
What it amounts to in practice
Its most concrete benefit is that it makes the control logic intuitive by obligation: an upward control for upward movement, distinguishable positions for the opposite directions of the same motor, critical buttons protected against being pressed unintentionally. On a radio-controlled crane this means the following: the order of the buttons on the transmitter has to match the direction in which the operator faces the machine, and the labels have to be permanent enough not to rub off. Mark the channel-to-movement mapping in the same way on the panel and on the transmitter.
The same logic extends to where the remote control is used from: the operator is expected to work from a position where they can see the load, and not to give commands from a point where the view is blocked or their back is turned. Remote control brings responsibility in this respect as much as convenience; how far the operator may move away and from which points operating is forbidden are defined during installation.
A frequent mistake
The most common error is using the standard as though it were a product badge. The standard is written for the assessment of the machine as a whole, not of a single component; a control device being suitable on its own does not make the machine it is fitted to suitable. The second common error is skipping the obligations that the modification brings when wireless control is added to an existing machine afterwards. The harmonised status of a standard does not mean conformity by itself either. The third error is treating the matter as a problem of new machines only: on an existing crane, when the control box is changed the interface has changed too, and if the button order does not stay the same as before, the habit of the operator turns into a wrong movement.
What to do
This explanation is general information about the scope of the standard. The EN 13557 conformity of a particular remote control is confirmed only through the declaration of conformity and the technical file of the manufacturer. As the party doing the installation, your job is to verify the button-to-movement mapping in practice, to make the labels permanent and to write that verification into the commissioning record. When asking a supplier for documentation, ask the right question as well: instead of "does this conform to the standard" ask "which standards are listed in the declaration of conformity". To the first question you get a verbal answer; the second is answered with a document.
The full topic: Wireless Crane Remote Control Selection Guide