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CECIP Newsletter Q3 2021

 

CECIP webinar on ‘Certification in one day’ – 7 September

To keep up with the continuous developments of weighing instruments and reduce the administrative burden it is needed to reduce the time it takes to obtain certificates such as EU type-approval certificates. Therefore, CECIP organised on 7 September the CECIP webinar on ‘certification in one day’ to discuss how this can be done. During this webinar speakers from LNE (Thomas Lommatzsch), PTB (Dorothea Knopf) and Dibal (Joan Martinez) presented their views on what should and can be done to improve the certification procedures. It resulted in an interesting debate with clear ideas for improvement. Overall, it seems that a ‘certification in one day’ might be a bit too optimistic, but there are certainly improvements possible to make the certification procedures faster.

The presentations of the webinar can be downloaded below:

 

World with weighing campaign reaches its end

The CECIP ‘World with Weighing’ campaign has come to an end. Starting in March, the campaign aimed at informing the public, users and buyers about the importance of accurate and reliable weighing. Visuals, video’s and articles on social media highlighted the role of quality weighing in the current world. As mentioned in the tag line of the campaign, weighing is more than just a number. Weighing enables high-quality research, ensures fair business transactions and improves the quality of production.

Overall, the campaign is considered a great success by CECIP by spreading the messages to a large crowd via the different channels. CECIP is committed to continue informing weighing instrument users and consumers about the importance of quality weighing. Therefore, the campaign website (www.worldwithweighing.com) remains available and further activities are expected in the future.

 

Invitation: CECIP members-only webinar ‘Updates from Europe’ – 25 November

On Thursday 25 November CECIP organises the first edition of the CECIP members-only webinar on ‘Updates from Europe’ from 10.00 to 12.00 CET. The idea of this webinar is to present updates from different countries and EU that are relevant for the weighing industry. It gives the opportunity for all members to get in this two hour webinar an overview of key developments.

During this first webinar, we present the following topics:

  • Introduction of CECIP database (Tim Hamers, CECIP)
  • New Spanish metrology legislation (Josep Campolier, AECIP)
  • German prepackage legislation (Markus Heseding, VDMA)
  • Displaying min, max, e (Markus Heseding, VDMA)
  • Access to the UK market (Ian Turner, UKWF)

The webinar is open for all CECIP members, which means all members of national associations that are CECIP member. Registration is possible until 24 November via this link. 

 

Max, Min, e solely shown in a display

Is the NAWID technology open or does it hinder digitization?

According to the NAWID Directive (2014/31/EU) the inscriptions Max, Min, e have undoubtedly to be shown on a weighing instrument. Manufacturers can meet this requirement in various ways, for example by affixing an identification plate/label or by displaying the inscriptions in an electronic display. Many manufacturers have shown these inscriptions in an electronic display only for more than 10 years, as this is:

  • Recognised internationally by the OIML (R 76)
  • Specified in (harmonised) European Standards (EN 45501)
  • Accepted by the market surveillance in Europe
  • Confirmed as compliant with directives by accredited notified bodies

However, a regional market surveillance in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has initiated administrative offence proceedings against two German a scale manufacturers. According to the authority, the inscriptions may be shown in a display, however, in addition a physical-analog inscription (identification plate/label) is mandatory.

Both manufacturers objected and a Court case was the result.

  • One case was won, as the weighing instrument is covered by a type approval certificate, which has been issued by a notified body executing according to the old Directive (2009/23/EC) an administrative act (which per definition cannot be wrong).
  • The second case was lost as the Administrative Court in Cologne dismissed the scale manufacturer’s complaint. The weighing instrument is covered by a type examination certificate, which has been issued by a notified body acting according to the NAWID as a private body. Accordingly, this type examination certificate has no legally binding effect.  Furthermore, harmonised standards (EN 45501) and guides (WELMEC Guide 2) drawn up by experts for weighing systems, both of which, in the opinion of the accredited conformity assessment bodies, permit a purely digital solution as conforming to the directive, would have no legally binding effect. The manufacturer appealed and a further court hearing is required.

CECIP strongly disagrees with the result from the second case. At the moment, an EU safeguard procedure is ongoing. Since, the NAWID could possibly stand in the way of a – for years practiced without problems – digital solution on this point, it would be all the more important for the EU Commission to state that the complaint from NRW does not constitute a mandatory infringement of the applicable directive. In the case of EN 45501, this could be due to a formal oversight with regard to the inscriptions mentioned. Therefore, the indication of Max, Min and e on the display alone shall be is accepted as conforming to the directive in other EU states. CECIP is convinced this is the right approach in a digital world.