Ccqs Uk Ltd

A few of the photographs from Doug, Owen and Chris' visit to the office in China.

In May 2017 CCQS attended VG1 (Head protection) and VG2 (Respiratory protection) committee meetings in Germany and France. Topics for discussion included update to standards, recommendation for use sheets, round robin testing and general discussions regarding different types of products and also the New Regulation.
The standards currently under review for Head Protection are: EN13781 – Protective helmets for drivers and passengers of snowmobiles and bobsleighs EN1385 – Helmet...s for canoeing and white water sports EN14052 – High performance industrial helmets EN397 – Industrial safety helmets EN812 – Industrial bump caps EN966 – Helmets for airborne sports EN12492 – Mountaineering equipment. Helmets for mountaineers. Safety requirements and test methods
The standards currently under review for Respiratory Protection are: EN12941 – Respiratory protective devices. Powered filtering devices incorporating a helmet or a hood. Requirements, testing, marking EN12942 – Respiratory protective devices. Power assisted filtering devices incorporating full face masks, half masks or quarter masks. Requirements, testing, marking EN13274-7 – Respiratory protective devices. Methods of test. Determination of particle filter penetration EN143 – Respiratory protective devices. Particle filters. Requirements, testing, marking EN14387 – Respiratory protective devices. Gas filter(s) and combined filter(s). Requirements, testing, marking EN144-1 – Respiratory protective devices. Gas cylinder valves. Thread connections for insert connector EN144-2 – Respiratory protective devices. Gas cylinder valves. Outlet connections EN14593-1 – Respiratory protective devices. Compressed air line breathing apparatus with demand valve. Apparatus with a full mask. Requirements, testing, marking EN14594 – Respiratory protective devices. Continuous flow compressed air line breathing apparatus. Requirements, testing, marking EN148-1 – Respiratory protective devices: threads for facepieces. Standard thread connection
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In March 2017 CCQS attended the Horizontal Committee Meeting in Brussels for Notified Bodies involved with PPE. The discussion was largely around the implementation of the New PPE Regulation 2016/425/EU from the Current PPE Directive 89/686/EEC. The New Regulation 2016/425/EU was published in March 2016 and will come into force on 21st April 2018 when Directive 89/686/EEC is repealed. There are a few changes to the requirements including more emphasis on Importer and Distribu...tors of PPE and several changes of categories. • Hearing Protection and Personal Flotation Devices are amongst other types of product moving from category II to category III. • Oven gloves have now been included in the Regulation having been excluded in the previous Directive. More information will follow to our customers once received from the Commission.
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Chris Halford has joined CCQS as successor to Doug Florence in the Technical Manager role. He will take over the role fully later this year. Chris is a PPE expert and will help CCQS develop their activities in this area.

Guidance on Machinery Directive from EU. The EU Europa website has links to the content and Guidance to Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Some useful stuff here and well worth a look. http://ec.europa.eu/…/sec…/mechanical -engineering/machinery/

Brexit update. Errmmm..really nothing to report at present. Nothing has actually happened in the Brexit process yet. The UK government has given no indication of what might happen either and it seems likely that CE marking and the status of Notified Bodies will be fairly low down their list of priorities. If Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty is triggered at the end of March (as UK government would like) there is a 2 year timescale to a formal exit from the EU, but even that is ...not 100% certain and the terms on which any exit would take place are currently completely undefined.
If the UK leaves the EU completely, UK Notified Bodies for CE marking could only continue to exist if a Mutual Recognition Agreement was put in place. Limited MRAs are already in place between EU and USA as an example. An alternative would be for UK Notified Bodies to establish offices within the EU which would then hold the Notified Body appointment.
UKAS accreditations would be unaffected by Brexit since they are internationally recognised.
Whatever happens, CCQS will take measures to ensure that we continue to provide service to our existing clients and we wil continue to do so in future.
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New EN 14122 standards issued.
EN 14122 parts 1,2,3,4 covers ladders, walkways, handrails and platforms. The new standards include some significant changes to previous requirements. Contact CCQS for more details.

Implications of Brexit for Notified Bodies and Certification.
The UK has voted to leave the EU. The UK remains in the EU until the formal leaving process has been completed. The formal process is described in Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty and requires a notice period of at least two years before a country actually leaves. It is not clear at present when that two year period will start, but the UK government must make the application to leave. At present it is suggest that w...ill not be before early 2017.
It seems likely that the UK will not leave the EU before late early at the earliest. Until that time UK Notified Body activities should be unaffected so there is no immediate change.
Teresa May, UK's new PM keeps saying "Brexit means Brexit" but it is not at all clear what "Brexit" actually means. It will be some time before the UK's arrangements after leaving the EU become clear. It is the opinion of CCQS that even after leaving the EU, the UK is likely to retain its national CE marking regulations and will continue to appoint Notified Bodies in the same way that some other non EU countries do at present. E.g. Norway, Switzerland. We expect that UK Notified Bodies will continue to provide certifications which will be acceptable throughout the EU and in UK for the foreseeable future.
CCQS expects that any certificates issued in the next few years will remain valid and recognised by EU countries until their normal expiry date whatever the results of UK trade negotiations with EU.
It is unlikely that the UK government will be able to issue any guidance as to what will happen in the UK with regards to Notified Bodies and CE marking for some time. The issue is subsidiary to the fundamental trade deals which will need to be agreed first.
We are sorry for the uncertainty which is beyond our control. We will continue to keep you informed as soon as we have any firm information.
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New EMC Directive 2014/30/EU and Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU come into force today.

New EN 13850:2015 Emergency Stops has been published, replacing the 2008 version of the standard.
The new standard does not make any fundamental changes but does add some useful new information, for example - Span of control (e.g. how much of a machine does an E stop button affect)
... - Recognition that an inverter drive STO or SS1 function can effect an E stop and that E stops must meet at least EN 13849 PLc or EN 62061 SIL 1.
- There is also more detail on types and construction of E stop actuators and the use of cableless controls.
You can buy a copy of the standard here https://www.evs.ee/products/evs-en-iso-13 850-2015 (Much cheaper than BSI but a legal purchase)
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Our stand at the ABTT Theatre show. Trying to promote out theatre machinery and equipment safety inspection services. Some interesting enquiries which I hope will lead to more work in this area.

Our PPE Directive Notified Body appointment has been confirmed today by UK government BIS. An exciting new opportunity for CCQS!

CCQS recently provided the Machinery Directive EC type examination certificate for the new scenery painting platforms installed at the National Theatre in London.
The three platforms allow very large scenery flats to be painted safely and easily against a vertical wall. They lift the painters more than 3m into the air and so are in Machinery Directive Annex IV, requiring Notified Body certification.
CCQS were involved from the risk assessment and design stage of the project so safety was given careful consideration and built into the system from the start.

CCQS theatre inspection service will be exhibiting at the ABTT Theatre show at Alexandra Palace 24th and 25th June. http://www.abtttheatreshow.co.uk/ This will be an exciting event for CCQS and should provide a strong boost for our work in this area.

New ISO 17020 accreditation! After a long application process CCQS has achieved the extension of its ISO 17020 accreditation to cover Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This paves the way to becoming a Notified Body for certification of PPE. This is an exciting new area of activity for CCQS. We expect this to be a big area of activity for our operations in China.