The festive season is upon us and at this time of the year it is time to start looking for those ideal gifts for your family and friends. Actually some may have started shopping much earlier in the year, but many others will wait  for those last minute bargains. Either way, one thing most people take for granted is the safety aspect of those gifts that you purchase in the shops. Whilst some will use their credit cards for added protection it is worth noting that credit cards can only be reactive to the problems that may arise. What we need is a proactive tool to ensure that there are no problems to arise in the first place and this is where the CE mark comes in.

When a product is being placed on the UK and European market, the manufacturer or importer must ensure that it complies with all of the relevant product legislation. In the example of a toy, it is likely that it will fall under the Safety of Toys Directive (2009/48/EC) and as such be required to be safe and to illustrate this by having the CE marking affixed. However, the CE mark itself is not really a consumer mark; it is a legal mark that must be affixed if someone wishes to place a product on the market. Consumers should not generally be expected to check whether they are being sold legal or illegal goods, in the same way that persons traveling on a bus would not be expected to check whether the bus driver has the appropriate driving license. So whilst consumers should be less concerned about checking for the CE mark of items that they purchase from within a shop, things get a little bit more complicated if you were to purchase goods online.

The recent growth in internet shopping has started to highlight some of the limits of the existing product safety legislation, with the main one being that European product legislation only applies to those within Europe. Since the internet allows us to easily purchase goods from anyone around the world, the current legislation will not stop websites that are based outside of Europe from selling non-CE marked products into Europe. The responsibility will lie with the person who imports the goods into Europe. This can also apply to persons selling new items on well-known auction websites.

So before you buy online, make a note to check where you are buying the goods from (inside or out of Europe). Also ask the seller if the goods are CE marked and if you can get a copy of a valid Declaration of Conformity (the legal document that must be completed before the CE marking can be affixed). For items purchased outside of Europe, you may wish to request and review test reports from approved test laboratories. Only when you are happy that all is well, would we recommend that you proceed with your purchase. Just a couple of final things to note; firstly not all products are required to be CE marked (only those covered by CE marking legislation) and secondly the Directives use specific definitions for items in scope, so for example not everything that you would find within a toy shop will be defined as a toy. So hopefully with the guidance above and the further support on offer below, you will be able to purchase Christmas gifts with greater confidence.

More help and support

If you are an importer or manufacturer of toys, or other Christmas gifts, and you need support then please get in contact with our technical team on 01527 595066, who can assist you with your conformity requirements.

If you are a consumer, whilst we would be happy to help, we would recommend contacting your local branch of Trading Standards, who have greater powers to investigate issues relating to non-conformities.

Please also see our quick guide to the Safety of Toys Directive.

Every year the CE Marking Association host an annual event to cover the basics of product compliance, provide updates on forthcoming or recent changes and to give persons the opportunity to meet technical support engineers who are on hand to discuss matters related to product conformity.

This year, on the 21^st November, the event is being held on the site of our new offices at Wootton Park (in the Twenty10 building).

The seminar is a great way to keep up to date with the latest technical and regulatory changes in CE Marking and other Product & Machinery Legislation. The topics are presented by speakers from within the industry or other related organisations (including the UK Government Department for Communities & Local Government, BIS and Trading Standards), all of which whom are best placed to answer your questions.

 Key topics being discussed in the 2013 Seminar are;

– CE Marking Basics (for beginners/refreshers)
– New Consumer Product Safety Regulation
– Construction Product Regulation
– Human Exposure to EM Fields and the effects on CE Marking

The seminar is FREE to attend for all members of the Association. Non-members may also attend, however there will be a charge of £100.00 per delegate. If you would like to attend, then please go to our event flier to complete a registration form.

Members of the CE Marking Association frequently send questions into the Technical Team for support on Product Compliance. Where the dilemma may be of interest to a wider audience we like to publish the questions and answers as guidance for other manufacturers. Please note that the question and answer may have been altered for confidentiality reasons.

Question

If I take delivery on site of an 415V Electrical control panel, which is to form part of a bigger fixed installation, should the panel have the CE mark and come with a Declaration of Conformity against the Low Voltage Directive (as I believe the panel falls within the scope)?

Answer

Thank you for your query.

There are a couple possibilities depending upon how the supplier of the panel views their role with supplying the panel to you. The Low Voltage Directive (LVD) applies to electrical equipment that has an input or output voltage within the range of 50-1000 V A.C. or 75-1500 V D.C. For equipment that is within this voltage range and is not listed within Annex II (items excluded), the Directive will sets out requirements for the manufacturer to fulfil before the product is being placed on the market.

This tends to be where most people get stuck, as the Low Voltage Directive contains very few definitions for guidance; therefore we have to lean on the Official European Guidance Notes for the Low Voltage Directive, which goes into more detail. In this particular matter we need to establish who is classed as the manufacturer and what is the definition of “placing on the market”. In both instances, the European guide refers to the European Commission’s guide to implementation of the European Product Directives, which states:

A manufacturer is defined as a person who is responsible for designing and manufacturing a product with a view to placing it on the market under his own name. The responsibilities of a manufacturer also apply to persons who have ready-made products placed on the market under their own name (brief summary of the text within section 3.1 of the EC’s Guide)

Placing on the market is defined as when a product is transferred from the stage of manufacture with the intention of distribution or use on the Community market. This transfer can be for payment or free of charge. (Brief summary of the text within section 2.3.1  of the EC’s guide)

So using the above definitions, we need to establish who is defined as the manufacturer;

– If the panel has been designed and built for you and the ‘panel builder’ places their name on the product, then they will be classed as the manufacturer and as such the panel would be covered by the LVD. The panel is also likely to come under the ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive too, so the CE mark should be applied for both of these Directives.

– If the panel has been designed by you and the panel builder has purely acted as a sub-contract manufacturer to build your panel, then in this scenario you would be deemed to be the manufacturer and will be responsible for CE marking. All the panel builder would be responsible for is to supply a panel as per your design.

Using the guidance above you need to establish who is defined as the manufacturer of the control panel, and then this will help to determine who is responsible for CE marking.

Sources:

– Low Voltage Directive

– EU LVD Guidance

– EC’s Guide on Implementation of EU Directives

The following list(s) of harmonised standards referenced on the European Commission’s Official Journal have been updated in November 2013:

– ATEX Directive: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2013:319:0006:0014:EN:PDF

– Lifts Directive: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2013:323:0001:0003:EN:PDF

Aston University is playing its part to support economic growth in the West Midlands by securing funding from the European Regional Development Fund to run a range of innovative business support initiatives to help regional businesses access the expertise available within the University to increase competitiveness, productivity and performance.

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development. Aston currently has six active, and three recently approved ERDF projects, aimed at working with local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to help boost economic growth and job creation, encourage enterprise, and improve graduate employability.

Examples of the current ERDF funded projects include:

• The European Bioenergy Research Institute which provides practical bioenergy solutions for companies and local authorities in the West Midlands, UK, Europe and beyond.

• Servitisation in SMEs is a programme of free support to manufacturing SMEs in the West Midlands to help them to understand how to strengthen their relationships with customers, create new and resilient revenue streams and set high barriers for competitors.

• Transformation for Growth will act as a catalyst for SMEs in the West Midlands to identify and implement strategies for transformation and growth, utilising a set of proven transformation toolkits and processes.

• Graduate Advantage, an internship finding service to place graduates into internships with small, high growth companies.

• An Innovation Voucher Scheme allows SMEs in the West Midlands to apply for a voucher worth £1,500 to directly link to support available from knowledge base providers. The scheme also provides free workshops to support SMEs with ‘Strategies for Growth’, ‘Access to Funding’ and ‘Leadership for Innovation’.

Other projects support technical areas including Photonics and Biomarkers.

Dr Phil Extance, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Business Partnerships at Aston University said: ‘We recognise that businesses, in particular SMEs, often struggle to forge links with universities and tap into the expertise they have to offer. Research at Aston tackles some of the major issues that impact on individuals, communities and businesses today. The ERDF projects currently running at Aston help us to work in partnership with businesses to transfer and apply this knowledge to create sustainable business solutions and inspire creativity, innovation and consequently growth. ’

To find out more about the range of business support services available at Aston University visit www.aston.ac.uk/business or email bpu@aston.ac.uk

Notes to editors

ERDF

The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.gov.uk/browse/business/funding-debt/european-regional-development-funding