CE / ATEX Management
CE marking - gain access to the European market
CE marking is a mandatory legal conformity requirement for all products sold within the European Union that fall within the scope of a CE marking directive. By affixing a CE marking to a product and signing the Declaration of Conformity, a product supplier is declaring to the EU authorities that the requirements of all applicable directives have been met. Depending on the directive, involvement of a European Union ‘Notified Body’ may be mandatory for certain types of products.
Riebdon assists companies to demonstrate their products' compliance with the requirements of applicable CE marking directives, by offering testing and certification in line with these requirements. The CE Marking is recognized by all European Union member states (authorities and general public) which allow the free movement of goods between the states
Why Riebdon International?
Riebdon International delivers confidence and peace of mind to manufacturers, retailers, code authorities and consumers around the world. With the experience and knowledge of thousands of volunteer members, in-house technical experts and nearly a century of experience in standards development and product certification, we offer you the solutions you need to operate and live in today’s world, and the guidance to drive you towards success tomorrow.
Expertise around the globe
No matter where you are, our extensive global network can help provide personalized, local support for all of your product evaluation and certification needs. We work with industry, government and consumers to develop and harmonize standards that streamline access to global markets and provide peace of mind.
Advancing today, anticipating tomorrow
Technology changes quickly, and the needs of industry and consumers right along with it. We offer expertise for you today, and guidance to help anticipate where technology is headed tomorrow. Whether you’re working with proven, emerging or cutting-edge technologies, we can help you find the right path.
CE ATEX - EU
Riebdon International’s highly skilled technical staff will provide you with expert precertification services for your equipment used in hazardous locations in Europe as required by the ATEX directive. We can test & certify your equipment for hazardous locations to European standards pertnered with a Notified Body under the ATEX directive.
About the ATEX directive
If you manufacture electrical equipment used in hazardous locations and intend to market your products in the European Union, your equipment must comply with the ATEX directive. Also known as European Directive 94/9/EC, the ATEX directive ensures the free movement of goods throughout the European Union by harmonizing compliance procedures.
The ATEX requirements
The ATEX directive requires the following major elements to be met in order to apply the ATEX marking:
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The CE mark - The CE mark is a self-declaration marking indicating that your equipment conforms to applicable technical provisions and ATEX requirements and other directives.
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Essential health and safety requirements - Annex II of the ATEX directive, requires that you establish principles of integrated explosion safety from all electrical and non-electrical ignition sources. You can demonstrate compliance to these requirements by following the harmonized European standard series EN 60079.
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EC Type Examination Certificate - For Category 1 (electrical and mechanical) and Category 2 (electrical) equipment, a Notified Body will need to verify that your equipment has met the relevant applicable provisions of the ATEX directive in order to receive an EC Type Examination Certificate. For Category 3 equipment, an EC Type Examination Certificate is not required, however, manufacturers must ensure that your products comply with ATEX by following the appropriate conformity route.
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Quality Assessment - The facility(s) producing your equipment must undergo a Quality Assessment of EN13980 which will result in a Notified Body issuing you a Quality Assurance Notification (QAN).
Secure your approvals with Riebdon International
Product Evaluation
Riebdon International’s product evaluation services help you streamline the entire product development cycle to help get your products to market. We offer a broad portfolio of services:
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Pre-production evaluations
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Factory audits
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Pre-purchase testing
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Shipment inspections
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Post-purchase evaluations
These services help you obtain the information you require to make sound business decisions, optimize your supply chain, maintain end to end quality oversight and gain a competitive advantage.
No matter where in the world you operate, whether you’re a retailer, manufacturer, importer or distributor, our team of experts will develop an evaluation program to meet your needs.
Learn more about product evaluation services
Related Industries
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Appliances & HVACR
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Automotive
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Energy & Resources
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Hearth & Grill Products
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Lighting
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Medical, Laboratory & Health Care
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Plumbing
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IT & AV Technology
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Tools & Gardening Equipment
North American Certification
Riebdon International is your expert source for testing & certification of equipment used in hazardous locations across North America. You will be working with technical experts who will leverage their experience derived from a solid understanding of the required standards.
Definition for hazardous locations in North America
In North America, hazardous locations have traditionally been defined by a combination of classes and divisions as follows:
Classes
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Class I - A location made hazardous by the presence of flammable gases or vapors that may be present in the air in quantities sufficient to produce an explosive or ignitable mixture
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Class II - A location made hazardous by the presence of combustible or electrically conductive dust
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Class III - A location made hazardous by the presence of easily ignitable fibers or flyings in the air, but not likely to be in suspension in quantities sufficient to produce ignitable mixtures
Divisions
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Division 1 - A location where a classified hazard exists or is likely to exist under normal conditions
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Division 2 - A location where a classified hazard does not normally exist but is possible to appear under abnormal conditions
North American transition to the zone system
The U.S. and Canada have recently revised installation codes to recognize an international 3-Zone area classification system for equipment used in hazardous locations.
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Zone 0 – An area in which an explosive gas atmosphere is continuously present for a long period of time
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Zone 1 – An area in which an explosive atmosphere is likely to occur in normal operation
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Zone 2 - An area in which an explosive gas atmosphere does not normally exist.
In Canada, all new installations must use the 3-Zone system. Existing installations may continue to use the 2-Division system or opt to re-classify using the 3-Zone system.
In the U.S., all installations (both new and existing) can either continue using the 2-Division system or re-classify their product using the 3-Zone system.
ATEX Compliance of Non-electrical Equipment
The rules for ATEX compliance of non-electrical (mechanical) equipment differ to those of electrical equipment. Whilst such products still need to “comply” with the Directive, in most cases the products do not need to be “certified” and as such it’s not always required to obtain a certificate from a Notified Body, nor an ATEX QAN.
From the early days of ATEX up to the present day, we’ve helped hundreds of manufacturers of mechanical equipment ensure compliance of thousands of products. The below references provide an overview of the relevant conformity routes that your product may fall under.
Equipment Intended for Use in Zones 1/21 & 2/22 (category 2 & 3 equipment)
An EC Type-examination certification route is not required (there is no mandatory need to issue an ATEX certificate). Instead, compliance is achieved by “self-certifying” the equipment by complying with ‘Internal Control of Production’ (Annex VIII of the ATEX Directive).
Internal Control of Production requires compilation of a technical file which comprises of:
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A general description of the product
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Conceptual design and manufacturing drawings
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Descriptions and explanations necessary to understand the drawings and operation of the equipment
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A list of standards applied and descriptions of solutions adopted where the standards have not been applied
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Results of design calculations and examinations carried out
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Test reports
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An Ignition Hazard Assessment of the product, against the relevant standards
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Declaration of conformity
The Technical File
For category 2 non-electrical equipment, the completed technical file needs to be submitted to a Notified Body for their storage (for at least 10 years after the last piece of equipment is manufactured). There’s no requirement for the file to be reviewed and approved by the Notified Body – the only requirement is storage of that file.
For Category 3 non-electrical equipment, the manufacturer can declare compliance (on completion of the technical file) and label the product accordingly. There is no legal requirement for the technical file to be submitted to a Notified Body in this case.
Category 1 Non-electrical Equipment
If the equipment is to be used in a Zone 0/20 environment, the manufacturer must gain an ATEX EC-Type Examination certificate from a Notified Body, and Quality Assurance issues apply. See our sections above which explain the route to approval.
The Standards Used
The list of harmonised standards for ATEX define the EN 13463 series of standards be used in most cases to facilitate compliance to the EHSRs of the directive (Annex II). EN 13463-1 is the generic standard which should be used as the basis, however others exist for specific non-electrical equipment.
We Are Here to Help!
As there is no legal requirement for a Notified Body to check or review the technical file, the responsibility to ensure compliance falls solely on the manufacturer. We can however, as an accredited body, support you in this process by talking through the requirements before you start, or by reviewing and commenting on your file once its complete, and before you store it.
These optional services are explained in our datasheet on technical files.
The technical documentation
The technical documentation should comprise of:
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A general description of the product
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Conceptual design and manufacturing drawings
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Descriptions and explanations necessary to understand the drawings and operation of the equipment
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A list of standards applied in full or in part and descriptions of solutions adopted where the standards have not been applied
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Results of design calculations and examinations carried out
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Test reports
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An Ignition Hazard Assessment of the product, against the relevant standards
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Declaration of conformity
Storage of the File
For category 2 non-electrical equipment, the completed technical file needs to be submitted to a Notified Body for their storage (for at least 10 years after the last piece of equipment is manufactured). Please note that a Notified Body will not review the file, they will just store it, meaning that full responsibility for compliance lies with the manufacturer.
Category 1 Non-electrical Equipment
If the equipment is to be used in a Zone 0 environment, the manufacturer must gain an EC Type Examination and ATEX certificate from a Notified Body, and Quality Assurance issues apply.
Category 3 Equipment
If the equipment is only to be used in a Zone 2 environment, the manufacturer can declare compliance (on completion of the technical file) and label the product accordingly. There is no legal requirement for the technical file to be submitted to a Notified Body in this case.
The Standards Used
ATEX defines the EN 13463 mechanical series of standards used to facilitate compliance to the directive. EN 13463-1 is the generic standard which should be used as the basis, however others existing for specific non-electrical equipment.
Riebdon Technical File Services
As there is no legal requirement for a Notified Body to check or review the technical file, it is the responsibility of the manufacturer to ensure that the equipment is fully compliant, and that they have compiled the technical file accurately and completely.
Riebdon understands however that you may not have the time, resource or compliance knowledge to compile a file on your own, so we can work with you to ensure your product achieves compliance. This can be by an initial consultancy session, training and/or reviewing your technical file and risk assessment for completeness.
Utilising the expertise of our compliance engineers will ensure that you can feel confident that you have followed the requirements of the directive, enabling you to declare compliance with the minimum of fuss and expenditure.
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