PTB News 3/2006 (118 kB) PTB News 3/2006, English edition, Issue December 2006Starting October 30, 2006, the European Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) published in 2004 has to be applied within the European Economic Area. The Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology (BMWi) has assigned PTB the task of performing the conformity assessment procedures, and PTB has started to issue corresponding certificates for manufacturers of measuring instruments.
With the coming into force of the MID, the requirements for water meters, gas meters, electrical energy meters and heat meters, as well as for measuring systems for liquids, for automatic weighing instruments, taximeters, material measures, dimensional measuring instruments and exhaust analysers have been harmonised. Before placing a measuring instrument on the market, the manufacturer must issue a declaration of conformity after a conformity assessment procedure has been performed by a notified body. The conformity assessment processes are composed of different modules. Essential modules are the type examination (Module B), the approval of the quality assurance in production (Module D), the design examination including approval of the quality assurance in development and production (Module H1), as well as the verification of serial instruments (Module F).
As the MID has not been transposed into the national Verification Law as of October 30, 2006, it applies directly now. Already on July 11, 2006, PTB was appointed – with the number 0102 – as notified body for the modules B, D and H1 for all measuring instruments mentioned in the MID. For the procedure according to Module F, which more or less corresponds to the “initial verification”, verification authorities and state-approved test centres were appointed as notified bodies so that also in future, this task does not have to be carried out by PTB. A comprehensive list of the Notified Bodies in Europe is available in the Internet Information System NANDO IS of the European Commission.
As PTB had prepared itself in due time for the tasks as a notified body, some manufacturers were able to obtain the first MID certificates as EC type examination certificate, EC design examination certificate or EC QM approval certificate already on October 30, 2006. An overview of all MID certificates which have already been issued by PTB so far has been published in the “PTB-Mitteilungen” and in PTB’s database “MICert”. Further instructions for applicants are listed on the website of the PTB certification body.