General
Numerous international markets require numerous certification services. The access to
individual certification services is handicapped by differences in procedures and requirements.
A number
of certification institutes, involved in the certification of electrical equipment,
have arranged mutual acceptance of each others test- and investigation-results.
The purpose
of these arrangements are to provide the industry with cost- and time-effective
testing- and certification-services, during which repetition or duplication
of procedures and activities are prevented whenever possible.
Bi-lateral arrangements
CEBEC has entered into bi-lateral agreements, or has obtained special accreditations all over the world.
Multi-lateral arrangements
CEBEC participates in two multi-lateral arrangements:
- «IECEE-CB scheme»
IECEE-CB is the abbreviation for «IEC system for conformity testing to standards
for safety of Electrical Equipment» (IEC being the abbreviation
for «International Electrical Committee»)
- «CCA-procedure»
CCA is the abbreviation for «CENELEC Certification Agreement»
(CENELEC being the abbreviation for «Comité Européen
de Normalisation Electrotechnique» or «European Committee for
Electrotechnical Standardization»)
This page is intended to provide information on the CCA- and CB-procedures.
Options
- Manufacturers using the CEBEC-certification for equipment intended for the
European market, can obtain other certifications for the same equipment,
- Importers of equipment with certifications for other markets, can obtain
CEBEC-certification, together with other certifications provided by CEBEC's one-stop-service,
- Manufacturers may require CEBEC's intervention in obtaining certifications for other markets without
CEBEC-certification.
Test Report Forms
The multi-lateral arrangements are based on a harmonization of the documents on which certification
is based. An essential part of these documents is the report containing the
results of examinations and tests. Standard «Test Report Forms
(TRF)», which are based on international standards, are being developed for
this purpose.
TRF's list all requirements of a standard, with references to the standard, and with spaces
for special remarks and test-results. A «Yes/No»-decision, concerning compliance
with the particular requirement, appears.
Empty TRF's can be obtained on CB Scheme site www.cbscheme.org
            
The IECEE-CB-Scheme
IECEE is organized by «National Certification Bodies (NCB's)». At the request of the
manufacturer or applicant, upon positive investigation- and test-results, an
NCB will issue a «CB-Test Certificate». This document will identify the investigated
product(s) and the standard(s) used for the investigation. For the investigation
the CB-Test Certificate will refer to a Test report.
Copies of a CB-Test Certificate and related test reports will be considered by other NCB's.
Additional examinations and tests, and consequent submittal of samples, may be required for any reason,
but is kept to a minimum.
CEBEC is the only Belgian NCB in the scope of this scheme. IEC regularly issues CB-Bulletins indicating
all NCB's, with their scope and their particular accreditation on www.iec.ch.
The CCA-Procedure
CCA is organized by the CENELEC-member-certification-organizations in the «European
Economic Association (EEA)» consisting of the «European Union (EU)» and the
«European Free Trade Association (EFTA)». The CCA-Procedure is not accessible
for manufacturers outside the EEA-countries.
At the request of the manufacturer or applicant, upon positive investigation- and test-results,
the organization will issue a «Notification of Test Results
(NTR)». This document will identify the investigated product(s) and the standard(s)
used for the investigation. For the investigation the NTR will refer to a Test report.
With the normal CCA-procedure, copies of an NTR together with the related test reports will
be considered by other organizations. Additional examinations and tests, and consequent submittal
of samples, may be required. However, for this additional work the organization needs to provide the
reason with an explanation if necessary.
With the accelerated CCA-procedure the manufacturer chooses one of the organizations
as a representative, to obtain certifications by the other organizations. No
additional investigations are performed and certificates are issued within
two weeks.
CEBEC is the Belgian CENELEC-member-certification-organization.
Technical Requirements
Both IEC and CENELEC are standards issueing bodies; their standards are used as the basis
for certification. Specific certification programs may use standards with deviations
which are typical for the program or for (national) market-circumstances. Test reports
must address all deviations which are applicable for the requested certifications.
The investigation which is covered by a TRF, must be performed on samples which are representative
for the design of the product that needs to be certified.
Requests for assistance by CEBEC for certifications through CB-Test Certificates or CCA-NTR's
(with TRF's addressing all relevant national deviations), shall be accompanied
by technical construction files of the products in question.
Protection of Quality of Certification
The certification by the relevant certification-organization, and the additional work to be done
following an administrative procedure, is based on the rules of the certification
program in question. The rules may be subject to accreditation.
Each certification-organization needs evidence that all certification-requirements and conditions are complied
with. This evidence must be provided in accordance with the rules.
The CB-scheme and the CCA-procedure are generally accepted by accreditation-organizations
as a suitable basis for certification. However, positive experiences between
certification-organizations in a number of procedures need to be developed in
order to reach a minimum level of trust and to prevent additional work.
The reputation of CEBEC is considered as an established, experienced since 1923, trust-worthy
and reliable certification organization. CB-Test Certificates and CCA-NTR's by CEBEC are everywhere accepted.
It is important that the type-designations of the products that are to be certified, are identified
in relation with the type-designations of the products for which the CB-Test
Certificates or CCA-NTR's were issued.
Follow-up
CB-Test Certificates and CCA-NTR's have validity periods of three years, after which they may be «challenged».
In the case that administrative procedures are used for batch-certification, additional
information will be needed to provide evidence that the investigated samples
are statistically representative for the batch.
In the case that administrative procedures are used for type-certification, the certification-organization
will usually require an agreement-relation with the manufacturer to ensure compliance
with products which are claimed to be certified (provided with certification marks)
Information
For further information please contact CEBEC
CEBEC
Av. Fr. Van Kalkenlaan 9A, boîte/bus 1
B-1070 Bruxelles/Brussel
tel. : +32-2-556 00 20
fax. : +32-2-556 00 36
CEBEC provides worldwide market access
14/10/2004
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