LEAD FEATURE MACHINERY SAFETY LEGISLATION CHANGE
Mazak
machines made
outside of the
UK, such as this
Variaxis model,
will, just as
those made in
the UK, sport
both safety
marks – UKCA
and CE – from
January 2022,
but will continue
to carry the CE
mark for the
duration of next
year. This is a
refl ection of
the existence
of a transition
phase here in
the UK, but
there is no such
arrangement for
conformity assessment bodies and selfdeclaration
of conformity to the EU market
will continue where legislation currently
allows, and that is for both markets.”
UK companies not producing Annex IV
equipment and self-certifying can still
voluntarily engage with organisations that
previously had EU Noti ed status for their
CE marking services, advises Finch
Consulting’s Wheeler.
on the manufactured good itself.
the EU market
Finch Consulting’s Wheeler adds some more detail on
the change from distributor to importer. While he says
there should be no reason why companies would need two
separate Technical Files (the technical documentation that
demonstrates that the product meets the regulatory
requirements) since the same one could be used for both
CE and UKCA, holding two les is a choice they may make
because of this change from distributor to importer. “Many
companies that either import into GB or into the EU, not
forgetting Northern Ireland, will, in most cases, have
signi cantly more responsibilities. And they will need to be
able to provide the Technical File to authorities, if asked.
If the manufacturer undertakes the importing, then that
makes it simpler, but third-party importers may be asking
for copies of the manufacturer’s Technical File, as their
responsibilities can last for 10 years after supply.”
He additionally makes clear that unlike for other EU
directives such as The Electrical Equipment (Safety)
Regulations 2016, The Pressure Equipment (Safety)
Regulations 2016, The Dangerous Substances and
Explosive Atmosphere Regulations, The Electromagnetic
Compatibility Regulations 2016, for example, in the case
of the Machinery Directive and machine tools, end users
do not become importers when buying directly from EUbased
companies.
Moving onto Noti ed Bodies that offer third-party
compliance services for so-called Annex IV machinery and
Gambell advises that all such current UK-based
organisations will automatically become UK-approved
bodies (for UKCA conformance services) from the rst of
January 2021 (UKAS website list:
www.is.gd/epabaz
), but for UK
companies placing goods on the EU
market from that same date, such UK
bodies will no longer be recognised in
the EU. (There is a potential muddying of
the waters in that mutual recognition
could still be part of any UK-EU deal.)
Emphasises Gambell: “So companies do
need to be making sure you’re taking
steps to ensure compliance with the EU
requirements by the end of this year,
ready for the rst of January.”
She adds: “Voluntary testing by
On the UK regime, Gambell says: “The
test that the UK bodies will be doing to ensure goods are
compliant will be the same as they are required to do
under the existing CE regime. But, just to reiterate, we
really do encourage you to reach out and speak to your
UK-based body as soon as possible, because it’s
ultimately down to them to guide you on exactly what they
will require from the 1 January, but their requirements will
be detailed in letters sent before the end of this year.”
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
A related issue concerns Authorised Representatives (AR)
and Responsible Persons (RP). These keep the
declaration of conformity and the technical
documentation, including the Technical File, on behalf of
others, which must contain all information necessary to
demonstrate conformity of the product to the applicable
Mazak has the authority to self-certify all
machines in Japan and UK HQ. In the present state
of Brexit negotiations, with what we know now, there
will be no change to our processes between now and
December 2021.
In Jan 2022, under the current guidelines, we will
dual-mark all machines with CE and UKCA certi cation
to ensure the safety of all machines, regardless of where
they are being produced (Japan, UK) and where they will
be sold (GB or Europe)
www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets | December 2020 13
/epabaz
/www.machinery.co.uk