Interviews
VDMA for strengthening the monitoring of the market
06 May '08
4 min read
When in doubt, the potential client should ask for and check the relevant EC-Declaration of Conformity before he purchases the machine.
He can do this either by having technical inspections carried out or with the help of relevant check-lists. According to Mr Kampmeier, the German Engineering Federation pushes for strenghthening the monitoring of the market in an efficient way.
Only if the EU member states fulfill their official duties to the full, the customer can rely on CE marking and the statements made in the EC- Declaration of Conformity.
Customers often are not aware of the problems that might occur: It is either the manufacturer or, if the manufacturer does not import the product himself onto the European market, the importer or the person, respectively, who places the product on the market, who are responsible for the CE marking being affixed to machines and devices.
If the marking is wrong or even missing entirely, the described persons are in breach of current law. Misconduct like this can be treated as administrative offense and fines of up to 30,000 Euros can occur. Depending on the actual safety deficits found during inspections, further consequences might have to be borne.
In case of enormous deficits, the machine will be withdrawn from the market entirely. The situation gets even more difficult for importers or those people who bring the device on the market with either unauthorised or no CE marking at all, when it comes to liability issues.
Enormous amounts of money can accrue, if for instance, people get injured or material damaged, because the user - due to the machine having CE marking - believed it had certain safety features, but this had, in fact, not been the case or these features did not work properly.
Mr Kampmeier's suggestion: If you are thinking of purchasing construction machinery and want to play it safe, you should always question the CE marking and try and find out if it really is in accordance with the current health and safety regulations.
However, currently participants of auctions on construction machinery do not seem to be particularly impressed by legal violations, fines and liability risks. All 800 construction machines offered at Dormagen got sold.
He can do this either by having technical inspections carried out or with the help of relevant check-lists. According to Mr Kampmeier, the German Engineering Federation pushes for strenghthening the monitoring of the market in an efficient way.
Only if the EU member states fulfill their official duties to the full, the customer can rely on CE marking and the statements made in the EC- Declaration of Conformity.
Customers often are not aware of the problems that might occur: It is either the manufacturer or, if the manufacturer does not import the product himself onto the European market, the importer or the person, respectively, who places the product on the market, who are responsible for the CE marking being affixed to machines and devices.
If the marking is wrong or even missing entirely, the described persons are in breach of current law. Misconduct like this can be treated as administrative offense and fines of up to 30,000 Euros can occur. Depending on the actual safety deficits found during inspections, further consequences might have to be borne.
In case of enormous deficits, the machine will be withdrawn from the market entirely. The situation gets even more difficult for importers or those people who bring the device on the market with either unauthorised or no CE marking at all, when it comes to liability issues.
Enormous amounts of money can accrue, if for instance, people get injured or material damaged, because the user - due to the machine having CE marking - believed it had certain safety features, but this had, in fact, not been the case or these features did not work properly.
Mr Kampmeier's suggestion: If you are thinking of purchasing construction machinery and want to play it safe, you should always question the CE marking and try and find out if it really is in accordance with the current health and safety regulations.
However, currently participants of auctions on construction machinery do not seem to be particularly impressed by legal violations, fines and liability risks. All 800 construction machines offered at Dormagen got sold.
Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau eV
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