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CIMA Newsletter for June of 2000
The father of all Noise Directives made the final step and has entered into force on July 3, 2000. And, as explained to the writer by TÜV America's new noise guru Rupert Mayer of our Schaumburg office, will actually give the manufacturers of all equipment currently subject to noise limits a reprieve over existing directives relative to the cut-off dates for stricter compliance requirements. Good news indeed - but not for all manufacturers. There have been several drafts in committee in the Council during the past five years with many debates driving the delays to date. As felt the last "Common Position" listed above made it intact through the approval process. One of the primary reasons being the planned staging in of new levels of compliance dictated by the existing Directives that will be replaced by 2000/14/EC. The Directive will lower the requirements for noise levels: "down to the level of the better performers on the market today in two stages, in order to allow manufacturers who do not already comply with the requirements sufficient time to adapt their equipment to the more demanding limit values." Stage One levels become effective as from January 3, 2002 and Stage Two as from January 3, 2006. Another item worthy of mention is that the Council recognizes: "Different conformity assessment procedures may be considered appropriate for different categories of equipment. Decision 93/465/EEC offers different modules for use in conformity assessment procedures. For equipment subject to permissible sound power levels, a procedure consisting of an involvement of a notified body for checking the conformity with the provisions of this Directive in the design and the production phase is considered to be appropriate. Self-certification is considered appropriate for equipment subject to noise marking only. Monitoring is indispensable. " In other words, some equipment will require the involvement of a Notified Body in the conformity assessment process while other types of machinery can be "self-certified" by the manufacturer. Manufacturers will both win and loose in this respect. Some equipment which currently does not require "type certification" by a third party, will require some sort of Third Party assessment in the future. Monitoring of all equipment covered by 2000/14/EC will be a reality, however. See the Directive for specifics on this. A list of machinery requiring INVOLVEMENT OF A NOTIFIED BODY is: Article (12) (Certain limitations or exclusions may apply, for instance, net power, electrical / combustion engine, etc. For details please see the Directive or contact TÜV America.)
A list of machinery requiring NOISE MARKING only is: Article (13) (Certain limitations or exclusions may apply, for instance, net power, electrical / combustion engine, etc. For details please see the Directive or contact TÜV America.)
Definitions of all machinery listed are within the proposed Directive. Conformity Assessment 1. Before placing on the market or putting into service any equipment referred to in Article 12 the manufacturer, or his authorized representative established in the Community, shall subject each type of equipment to one of the following conformity assessment procedures: - the internal control of
production with assessment of technical documentation and periodical checking
referred to in Annex VI, or 2. Before placing on the market or putting into service any equipment referred to in Article 13 the manufacturer, or his authorized representative established in the Community, shall subject each type of equipment to the internal control of production procedure referred to in Annex V. Repeal of Existing Noise Directives 79/113/EEC The above will be repealed on January 3, 2002. Existing Type-examination certificates for items covered by the repealed directives may be used in drawing up the technical documents for 2000/14/EC Actual Testing EN ISO 3744: 1995 Test procedures and test site requirements from the above will be used to determine the sound power level of the machinery. Specific equipment testing processes and operating conditions are defined within 2000/14/EC Annex III. Notified Body Involvement Manufacturers have three options of Notified Body involvement in the processes as outlined in 2000/14/EC. Annex VI: requires a Notified Body to review the documentation gathered by the manufacturer and then decide if initial witnessed testing will be required. Periodic checks during the production phase are required. It is felt that the majority of the time a Notified Body will require witness testing until a high level of rapport and confidence in the manufacturer is achieved. Periodic checks of production are called for to determine continued compliance. Annex VII: requires a Notified Body to examine and test every single unit, resulting in a Certificate of Conformity. Annex VIII: Here the manufacturer's "Quality Assurance" system is brought into play and audited on a regular basis for compliance with the requirements of the Directive. Included in this annex is the right to perform unexpected visits and tests for compliance. Required documentation must
be maintained for a period of ten years after the end of production..
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