Pressure Equipment Directive (EU)


The Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU of the EU sets out the standards for the design and fabrication of pressure equipment generally over one liter in volume and having a maximum pressure more than 0.5 bar gauge. It also sets the administrative procedures requirements for the "conformity assessment" of pressure equipment, for the free placing on the European market without local legislative barriers. It has been mandatory throughout the EU since 30 May 2002, with 2014 revision fully effective as of 19 July 2016. The standards and regulations regarding pressure vessels and boiler safety are also very close to the US standards, as described in the ASME BPVC, which is defined by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This enables most international inspection agencies to provide both verification and certification services to assess compliance to the different pressure equipment directives. From the pressure vessel manufactures PED does not generally require a prior manufacturing permit/certificate/stamp as ASME does.

Contents

  1. Scope and Definitions
  2. Market surveillance
  3. Technical requirements: classification of pressure equipment according to type and content.
  4. Free movement
  5. Presumption of conformity
  6. Committee on technical standards and regulations
  7. Committee on Pressure Equipment
  8. Safeguard clause
  9. Classification of pressure equipment
  10. Conformity assessment
  11. European approval for materials
  12. Notified bodies
  13. Recognized third-party organisations
  14. User inspectorates
  15. CE marking
  16. Unduly affixed CE marking
  17. International co-operation
  18. Decisions entailing refusal or restriction
  19. Repeal
  20. Transposition and transitional provisions
  21. Addressees of the Directive: the EU member states for implementation in national laws and/or regulations.
  • Annex I: Essential safety requirements
  • # General
  • # Design
  • # Manufacturing
  • # Materials
  • # Fired or otherwise heated pressure equipment with a risk of overheating
  • # Piping
  • # Specific quantitative requirements for certain pressure equipment
  • Appendix II: Conformity assessment tables. Actually diagrams of pressure vs. volume, for classification of equipment in four classes.
  • Appendix III: Conformity assessment procedures
  • Appendix IV: Minimum criteria to be met when designating the notified bodies and the recognised third party organisations
  • Appendix V: Criteria to be met when authorising user inspectorates
  • Appendix VI: CE marking
  • Appendix VII: Declaration of conformity

    Transition to Directive 2014/68/EU

Directive 97/23/EC was fully superseded by directive 2014/68/EU from 20 July 2016 onwards. Article 13 of the new directive became effective 1 June 2015, replacing article 9 of directive 97/23/EC.

UK implementation

In the UK the Pressure Equipment Regulations 2016 PER and the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 apply: see Health and safety regulations in the United Kingdom. The Health and Safety Executive and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland are the named enforcement authorities. Some of the provisions included in PER 2016 apply differently in NI for as long as the Northern Ireland Protocol is in force after UK existing EU.