Maintaining standards
August 1st 2006 Since the implementation of the European Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive in 1995, SATRA has become one of the leading Notified Bodies for the CE marking of PPE intended for supply within Europe. It has also been influential in the development of PPE-related test methods and safety standards. Austin Simmons, executive director, explains more about the organisation's role
In Europe, one of the pieces of legislation designed to create an open single market covers a significant proportion of PPE. This legislation is formally called Council Directive 89/686/EEC, but is more commonly referred to as the 'PPE Directive'. It specifies in general terms what features should be addressed in the design of PPE and how it should be tested and certified. Products meeting the requirements of the PPE Directive should be marked with the CE symbol.
It has been illegal for many years to place an item of PPE on the market in a European state unless it carries the CE mark. However, many manufacturers and importers are only vaguely aware of the requirements and their obligations, and SATRA regularly runs training programmes and seminars on the subject and has also produced 'skeleton' technical files and a layman's guide to help them.
To support the PPE Directive, CEN, the European standardisation organisation, has been mandated by the European Commission to produce technical standards which have been written specifically for each type of product.
EN Standards
SATRA is a prominent member of many of the technical committees, whose work results in the publication of many European Norm or EN standards. This work has mainly been funded from our own resources as the vast majority of this work is still carried out by unpaid volunteers. Published EN standards describe in detail how a particular type of product should be tested and what performance is required to achieve a satisfactory pass.
European standards are not the only means of demonstrating compliance with the PPE Directive. A manufacturer can use any technical specification as long as it can be shown to satisfy the PPE Directive essential safety requirements.
However, if a European standard is available for the particular product being examined, you would need to have a sound technical argument for not using it.
In certain areas, such as niche or leading edge products, there may still be no European standards available, in which case a technical specification detailing how compliance is to be demonstrated must be produced and used.
SATRA has certified a number of products where European standards or national standards do not exist and has produced a series of 'SATRA standards' to cover them.
Notified Body
There are three categories of PPE recognised by the Directive and these are based on the risk, consequences and severity of injury likely to occur to someone not wearing adequate PPE. Each category requires a different level of involvement by a Notified Body.
Notified Bodies, such as SATRA, are Europe-based organisations which have been appointed by Member State Governments and notified to the European Commission on the basis of their ability to carry out the examinations and tests required for CE marking of PPE. In addition they must also be independent and impartial and have appropriate professional indemnity insurance cover.
These organisations facilitate European trade by ensuring safety and consistency of application through harmonised European standards and the PPE Directive requirements. This in turn provides consumers with a measure of confidence that suppliers' products have been assessed against recognised standards or other specifications by an independent third party, which is itself assessed for competence.
However, it is important to remember that, with the exception of complex category products where the Notified Body has additional responsibilities to periodically assess ongoing production, a Notified Body does not see the vast majority of PPE produced after initial type examination. The responsibility for ensuring consistent production in accordance with the initial type examination lies with the certificate holder.
The EC type Examination certificate remains the property of the Notified Body, and while it cannot prevent organisations supplying products into the marketplace, it can withdraw the certificate if it has sufficient grounds to consider it is being abused in some way.
B U L L E T I N SATRA's research and technology centre employs more than 180 scientific, technical and support staff across two sites in the UK, and the organisation has an office in China. Activities include research, material and product evaluation, management systems and consultancy, international quality systems, quality assurance and the production and sale of test equipment. Testing and certification services extend across all areas of PPE from head protection to safety footwear, and everything in between. Most is for industrial use, although the Directive also covers PPE for leisure use, such as helmets for skiers and cyclists. For more information: Tel: 01536 410000 Fax: 01536 410626 E: info@satra.co.uk www.satra.co.uk More articles from Satra Quality Assurance Ltd: | 
