Pressure Equipment Directive – PED – 2014/68/EU

In general, in order for a product to be freely placed on the market, it must comply with the safety requirements set by EU directives and required by specific regulations. The EU directives establish that, for certain types of product, the manufacturer needs a specific certification of the product itself before being able to proceed with the sale and placing on the market.
To obtain this certification, it is possible to contact a Notified Body, thus undertaking the path of MANDATORY CERTIFICATION.
Other types of products, on the other hand, do not require mandatory certification. In this case the manufacturer places the product on the market under their own responsibility, ensuring compliance with all the fixed legislative requirements.

Directive 2014/68/EU of 15 May 2014 concerning the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of pressure equipment, officially entered into force on 19 July 2016, definitively replacing Directive 97/23/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 May 1997.
This Directive should apply to pressure equipment subject to a maximum allowable pressure PS greater than 0.5 bar. Pressure equipment subject to a pressure of not more than 0.5 bar does not pose a significant risk due to pressure. Therefore, there should not be any obstacle to its free movement within the European Union.
When placed on the market, manufacturers shall ensure that all appropriate measures have been taken to ensure that pressure equipment and assemblies meet the requirements of this Directive in the case of adequate installation and maintenance and use in accordance with their intended purpose.
With this in mind, Vericert, as a third-party certification body, is in charge of EC certification of pressure equipment pursuant to Article 1, through the following conformity assessment procedures as per Annex III:

• MODULE A2: Internal production control plus supervised pressure equipment checks at random intervals
• MODULE B: EU type test – Type of production
• MODULE B: EU type test – Type of project
• MODULE C2: Conformity to Type based on internal production control plus officially supervised pressure equipment checks at random intervals
• MODULE D: Conformity to type based on quality assurance of the production process
• MODULE D1: Quality assurance of the production process
• MODULE E: Conformity to type based on quality assurance of pressure equipment
• MODULE E1: Quality assurance of inspection and testing of finished pressure equipment
• MODULE F: Conformity to type based on verification of pressure equipment
• MODULE G: Conformity based on unit verification
• MODULE H: Conformity based on total quality guarantee
• MODULE H1: Conformity based on total quality assurance with design control

Article 1 – Scope of application

3. This Directive shall apply to the design, manufacture and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and assemblies with a maximum allowable pressure PS greater than 0.5 bar.
4. This Directive shall not apply to:
   1. pipelines comprising piping or a system of piping designed for the conveyance of any fluid or substance to or from an installation (onshore or offshore) starting from and including the last isolation device located within the confines of the installation, including all the annexed equipment designed specifically for pipelines. This exclusion does not apply to standard pressure equipment such as may be found in pressure reduction stations or compression stations;
   2. networks for the supply, distribution and discharge of water and associated equipment as well as headraces such as penstocks, pressure tunnels, pressure shafts for hydroelectric installations and their related specific accessories;
   3. simple pressure vessels pursuant to Directive 2014/29 EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (1);
   4. the aerosols referred to in Council Directive 75/324/EEC (2);
   5. equipment designed to operate vehicles as defined in the following legal acts:
      1. Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3);
      2. Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1);

• Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2);

1. equipment classified as no higher than category I under Article 13 of this Directive and covered by one of the following Directives:
   1. Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3);
   2. Directive 2014/33/EU of the European Parliament and the Council (4);

• Directive 2014/35/EU of the European Parliament and the Council (5);

1. Council Directive 93/42/EEC (6);
2. Directive 2009/142/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (7);
3. Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and the Council (8);

1. the equipment referred to in Article 346 (1) (b) TFEU;
2. items specifically designed for nuclear use, failure of which may cause an emission of radioactivity;
3. well-control equipment used in petroleum, gas or geothermal exploration and extraction industry and in underground storage which is intended to contain and/or control well pressure. This comprises the wellhead (Christmas tree), the blow out preventers (BOP), the piping manifolds and all their equipment upstream;
4. equipment comprising casings or machinery where the dimensioning, choice of material and manufacturing rules are based primarily on requirements for sufficient strength, rigidity and stability to meet the static and dynamic operational effects or other operational characteristics and for which pressure is not a significant design factor. Such equipment may include:
   1. engines including turbines and internal combustion engines,
   2. steam engines, gas/steam turbines, turbo-generators, compressors, pumps and actuating devices;
5. blast furnaces including the furnace cooling system, hot-blast recuperators, dust extractors and blast-furnace exhaust-gas scrubbers and direct reducing cupolas, including the furnace cooling, gas converters and pans for melting, re-melting, de-gassing and casting of steel and non-ferrous metals;
6. enclosures for high-voltage electrical equipment such as switchgear, control gear, transformers, and rotating machines;
7. pressurised pipes for the containment of transmission systems, e.g. for electrical power and telephone cables;
8. ships, rockets, aircraft and mobile off-shore units, as well as equipment specifically intended for installation on board or the propulsion thereof;
9. pressure equipment consisting of a flexible casing, e.g. tyres, air cushions, balls used for play, inflatable craft, and other similar pressure equipment;
10. exhaust and inlet silencers;
11. bottles or cans for carbonated drinks for final consumption;
12. vessels designed for the transport and distribution of drinks having a PS 7V of not more than 500 bar L and a maximum allowable pressure not exceeding 7 bar;
13. equipment covered by Directives 2008/68/EC and 2010/35/EU and equipment covered by the International Maritime Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods and the International Convention for Civil Aviation;
14. radiators and pipes in warm water heating systems;
15. vessels designed to contain liquids with a gas pressure above the liquid of not more than 0.5 bar.