CE marking
Significance of CE Markimg
By affixing the CE marking, the manufacturer or person placing the product on the market or putting it into service asserts that the item meets all the essential requirements of the relevant "European Directive". Examples of European Directives requiring CE marking include toy safety, machinery, low-voltage equipment, Terminal equipment compatibility. There are about 25 directives requiring CE marking. Officially, CE has no meaning as an abbreviation, but may have originally stood for European accordance (European Community) or Conformité Européenne("European Conformity").
Declaration of conformity
Edit section: Declaration of conformity"
The CE marking is a mandatory European marking for certain product groups to indicate conformity with the essential health and safety requirements set out in European Directive. To permit the use of a CE mark on a product, proof that the item meets the relevant requirements must be documented. Sometimes this is achieved using an external test house which evaluates the product and its Technical documentation. Often it is achieved by a company-internal self-Certification process. In any case the responsible organization (manufacturer, representative, importer) has to issue a EC-Declaration of Conformity (EC-DoC) indicating his identity (location, etc.), the list of European Directives he declares compliance with, a list of standards the product complies with, and a legally binding signature on behalf of the organization. The EC-DoC underlines the sole responsibility of the manufacturer. When parts of the certification process for the CE marking are performed by 3rd party test houses or certification bodies then it is mandatory that the CE symbol also includes a number identifying the 'Notified Body'.
To be strictly accurate, there are two forms of Declaration, either a "Declaration of Conformity" or a "Declaration of Incorporation". Generally speaking this is only the case under the Machinery Directive. For example, a stand-alone machine that requires only a power source to operate would be issued with a Declaration of Conformity; whereas a machine that requires additional systems, attachments, feed conveyors etc, before it can provide its intended function must be issued with a Declaration of Incorporation. In this latter case it is illegal to CE Mark such a machine. This can only be achieved once the machine has been finally installed and all other elements incorporated into the system. A final Risk assessment is performed to verify compliance of the system and a final Declaration of Conformity is then issued. Furthermore, these directives are based upon what the European Commission calls a New Approach, whereby if any of the Article 100A Directives apply to a product, then they must be followed. There are multiple classes of CE marking. A CE mark of 1 is easily attainable and does not require toxicology studies, while a class 3 CE mark is the most difficult to obtain and which comes with well documented toxicology studies Directives providing the requirements for the CE marking are created by the European Union (EU), but the markings are required throughout the European Economic Area(EEA). According to information provided by the Swiss Government for Swiss the CE Mark is not compulsory in Switzerland except for products for export to the European Union.)
By affixing the CE marking, the manufacturer or person placing the product on the market or putting it into service asserts that the item meets all the essential requirements of the relevant "European Directive". Examples of European Directives requiring CE marking include toy safety, machinery, low-voltage equipment, Terminal equipment compatibility. There are about 25 directives requiring CE marking. Officially, CE has no meaning as an abbreviation, but may have originally stood for European accordance (European Community) or Conformité Européenne("European Conformity").
Declaration of conformity
Edit section: Declaration of conformity"
The CE marking is a mandatory European marking for certain product groups to indicate conformity with the essential health and safety requirements set out in European Directive. To permit the use of a CE mark on a product, proof that the item meets the relevant requirements must be documented. Sometimes this is achieved using an external test house which evaluates the product and its Technical documentation. Often it is achieved by a company-internal self-Certification process. In any case the responsible organization (manufacturer, representative, importer) has to issue a EC-Declaration of Conformity (EC-DoC) indicating his identity (location, etc.), the list of European Directives he declares compliance with, a list of standards the product complies with, and a legally binding signature on behalf of the organization. The EC-DoC underlines the sole responsibility of the manufacturer. When parts of the certification process for the CE marking are performed by 3rd party test houses or certification bodies then it is mandatory that the CE symbol also includes a number identifying the 'Notified Body'.
To be strictly accurate, there are two forms of Declaration, either a "Declaration of Conformity" or a "Declaration of Incorporation". Generally speaking this is only the case under the Machinery Directive. For example, a stand-alone machine that requires only a power source to operate would be issued with a Declaration of Conformity; whereas a machine that requires additional systems, attachments, feed conveyors etc, before it can provide its intended function must be issued with a Declaration of Incorporation. In this latter case it is illegal to CE Mark such a machine. This can only be achieved once the machine has been finally installed and all other elements incorporated into the system. A final Risk assessment is performed to verify compliance of the system and a final Declaration of Conformity is then issued. Furthermore, these directives are based upon what the European Commission calls a New Approach, whereby if any of the Article 100A Directives apply to a product, then they must be followed. There are multiple classes of CE marking. A CE mark of 1 is easily attainable and does not require toxicology studies, while a class 3 CE mark is the most difficult to obtain and which comes with well documented toxicology studies Directives providing the requirements for the CE marking are created by the European Union (EU), but the markings are required throughout the European Economic Area(EEA). According to information provided by the Swiss Government for Swiss the CE Mark is not compulsory in Switzerland except for products for export to the European Union.)
