CE Marking causing a headache?
***New legislation coming in December 2009*** Check back for more details later
Over the last few years a number of changes have occurred throughout the areas of legislation coving machinery and equipment.
Changes to the Directives can have a significant impact if you buy and use machinery in Europe. Jon Isaacs BEng (Hons) CEng explains how to negotiate the bureaucracy and shows how a simple checklist can help ensure that you stay the right side of the Law.
The CE Mark
Firstly, it is useful to clarify that the requirement for CE marking is intended to provide a common interpretation for what is deemed to be safe and acceptable. The CE mark itself is a visual indication that the manufacturer, or if the machine is imported the authorised importer/distributor, warrants that the machinery meets the minimum requirements of the appropriate Directives.
What does this mean?
According to European law, the minimum obligations on a machine manufacturer can be summarised in a simple 6 step checklist:-
Apply the appropriate Directive
Produce the machine in accordance with the Essential Requirements
Test that the machine achieves this standard
Produce and keep technical documents
Produce a Declaration of Conformity
Attach a CE mark
Unfortunately, that is about as easy as it gets. Most people quickly run into trouble in choosing which Directives to apply and then interpreting the "Essential Requirements" of those Directives. Because the Directives are also "The Law", they are not written in simple language. Neither are they written to deal with each and every machine type or application which rather complicates matters.
Fortunately, trade organisations such as the CE Marking Association which was founded in 1993 in the UK under a national initiative by the DTI (now BERR) exist with the sole purpose of helping to transfer the knowledge of Machinery Experts to companies involved in the manufacture, import or distribution of machinery or electronic apparatus for sale within the European Economic Area (EAA) who have a need to meet the provision of EC Directives 2004/108/EC (EMC), 2006/95/EC (LV) 98/37/EC (Machinery).
In House Expertise Some Comanies choose to go it alone and leave it to their own Engineers to choose the applicable Directives and to apply the Essential Requirements. But how do you know if this process has been undertaken with due care and diligence? Afterall, Engineers are usually under the same commercial pressures as everyone else to maximise margins and reduce costs. Such pressures, could ultimately influence the integrity of the CE Marking process for your machine. This is where Professional Engineers can play an important role. For example, by recruiting or training Professional Engineers who are themselves registered with a Professional Body such as an Engineering Institution (eg. The IET, IMechE etc), a machine manufacturer can be confident that the 6 steps (above) have been applied in a robust and thorough manner. | 
Professional Bodies such as The IET or IMechE are independent "not for profit" organisations and are not bound by the same commercial pressures. Instead, their members have a Duty of Care to uphold certain values, ethics and standards or risk being struck-off, or worse, prosecuted for negligence. In effect, this is your guarantee of Engineering professionalism. Next time you are considering a machine purchase, ask your supplier about his CE Marking process.......Does he have a techical file? What Directives has he applied? How has he tested the machine? How is he qualified to apply and interpret the Essential Requirements? |
For more information about how to successfully apply the CE Mark or to check that your machine is compliant contact sales@northwick.eu or call +44 (0) 1386 555 630
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