ISO 14990-2:2016

Overview

ISO 14990-2:2016 defines particular electrical safety requirements for externally-powered earth-moving machinery (EMM) - i.e., mains-connected machines or those powered by external dedicated generators. It covers electrical equipment, components and systems intended for outdoor use with on‑board voltages from 50 V to 36 kV AC and 75 V to 36 kV DC (including pulsating DC). The standard is intended to be used together with ISO 14990‑1 (general requirements); ISO 14990‑3 contains requirements for self‑powered machines.

Key Topics

ISO 14990-2 focuses on practical electrical safety and design topics for externally-powered machines, including:

• Scope and definitions for on‑board voltages and excluded internal device voltages.
• Supply characteristics and tolerances (AC and DC supply voltage, frequency, interruptions, harmonics and ripple).
• Protection against electric shock - earthing/bonding arrangements and continuity (including guidance for neutral earthing systems).
• Protection against electrical fire, thermal and mechanical hazards.
• Abnormal operation safeguards - supply conductor protection, socket outlet considerations, phase‑sequence protection, protection against supply interruption/restoration and overvoltages (lightning and switching surges).
• Electric power source requirements - incoming supply terminations, connections to protective earthing and protection against unauthorized or mistaken connections.
• Wiring, cables and moving connections - conductor clearances, flexible cables, routing and connections to moving elements (e.g., slip rings).
• Electric motor criteria and non‑motor loads - selection/design criteria adapted for EMM use.
• Control circuits, documentation, marking and testing - installation documents, manuals and required tests.
• Informative annexes such as an enquiry form for electrical equipment.

Applications

ISO 14990-2 is applied when designing, manufacturing, installing, testing and maintaining mains‑connected electrical earth‑moving machines such as externally‑powered excavators, loaders and other electrically driven construction vehicles or attachments. It helps ensure safe integration of:

• On‑site mains supply or external generator interfaces
• High‑voltage drive systems and converters
• Charging/shore‑power interfaces on hybrid machines

Who uses this standard

• Machine manufacturers and electrical system designers
• Safety and compliance engineers
• Test laboratories and certification bodies
• Maintenance teams, fleet buyers and OEM suppliers

Related Standards

• ISO 14990‑1 (general requirements)
• ISO 14990‑3 (self‑powered machines)
• IEC/ISO electrotechnical references used for design principles: IEC 60204‑1, IEC 60204‑11, IEC 60071‑1, IEC 60664‑1, IEC 60364‑5‑52, IEC 60445

Keywords: ISO 14990-2, earth-moving machinery, electrical safety, externally-powered machines, EMM, mains-connected, on-board voltages, earthing, wiring, motor selection, standards compliance.