07.12.2015
As part of the Conformity Assessment Body of PTB, its “Mass” Department feels responsible for informing its clients both competently and in good time about the changes within the conformity assessment process and for preparing them for the resulting changes.
Since February 2014 it has been official – the so-called “Omnibus” of the European Commission has arrived. In the framework of this “Omnibus”, different European Directives regulating the placing of instruments on the market in the European Union have had their structure and some of their key conditions (e.g. CE marking) unified. Two of these Directives are related to measuring instruments and are thus nationally under the responsibility of PTB. The Directives 2014/31/EU (Non-Automatic Weighing Instrument Directive) and 2014/32/EU (Measuring Instruments Directive, including automatic weighing instruments) have been valid since April 2014. The articles important for the practical application of conformity assessment and placing measuring instruments on the market will however come into force on 20 April 2016. The regulations made were already introduced into the German Measures and Verification Act (also adopted in 2014).
As part of the Conformity Assessment Body of PTB, its “Mass” Department feels responsible for informing its clients both competently and in good time about the changes within the conformity assessment process and for preparing them for the resulting changes, in order to use the transitional time in the best possible way. Therefore, in June 2014, a PTB Seminar with the title “Weighing Instruments in Europe”, with more than 80 participants (most of them from industry) took place. The changes to European and national rules within legal metrology and the resulting consequences for the weighing industry were shown and discussed. Besides the changes to the European Directives, the presentation of the new German Measures and Verification Act, software questions and changes within the Conformity Assessment Body at PTB were the main focus of this meeting.
During the “AWA-PTB-Gespräch”, a meeting between the “Weighing Technology” working group of the VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, German Engineering Federation) and PTB in January 2015, the change of the conformity assessment and conformity declaration of weighing instruments to the new directives was also a main focal point. In addition, the current changes due to the new German Measures and Verification Act, which came into force in January 2015, and the imminent adoption of a revision of the European harmonized standard EN 45501 ("Metrological Aspects of Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments") were explained. Here, the changed requirements with regard to the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and to software security must be pointed out in particular. To what extent PTB can provide support for its customers within the scope of its OIML activities in the case of approval processes outside Europe was also discussed. The involvement of OIML-MAA certificates (Mutual Acceptance Arrangement of the OIML) makes an important contribution to this (see:
www.oiml.org).
Due to the fact that after 19.4.2016 certificates must no longer be issued and revised according to the old Directives (2004/22/EC and 2009/23/EC), individual discussions are at present being held with the manufacturers, when requested, in order to advise them individually on the transition to the new Directives. We want to support all our clients as well as all other interested parties in this transition process to our very best.
Figure 1: Participants of the 280th PTB Seminar " Weighing Instruments in Europe " in June 2014
More information can be found at www.ptb.de/cms/metrologische-dienstleistungen/kbs.html und http://www.ptb.de/cms/de/ptb/fachabteilungen/abt1/fb-11.html.
Contact person:
Dorothea Knopf, FB 1.1, E-Mail:
dorothea.knopf(at)ptb.de