Service

The CB procedure

The CB procedure is an agreement set up by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) for certification that electric products conform to standards. The mutual recognition of product tests and product certifications allows the manufacturer an economical and quick access to international markets. Savings on expenditure through the elimination of multiple inspections and a reduction of the market access times represent a major competitive edge for the manufacturer. A CB certificate can therefore be considered as a passport of the product to the economically most interesting countries of the world.

The procedure

The directives for the procedure envisage that a manufacturer can obtain a CB certificate for a product if a national certification body (NCB) has certified this product. By presenting this CB certificate to a certification body of another state which takes part in the procedure one can then apply for the corresponding mark approval for that other state. The application must be filed with the first certification body according to the regulations applicable in the country where recognition is sought. Any manufacturing site inspections required can also be performed by the first certification body. In Austria ÖVE (Österreichischer Verband für Elektrotechnik) is the national certification body. ÖVE is as a member of the IEC the national certification body in Austria. TÜV Austria is a licensed CB test laboratory (CBTL).

The organisation

The certification bodies in the CB procedure must be appointed by the member organisations of the IECEE (IEC System for Conformity Testing and Certification of Electrical Equipment - CB Scheme); they can easily be found in the internet (www.iecee.org). The certification bodies are qualified according to the regulations of the procedure and the respective laboratories are duly licensed. The application is based on the fact that the participating countries and their certification bodies are prepared to recognize the CB certificate. The relevant standards and the national differences where these exist are published in the so-called CB Bulletin. Last year the Division for Medical Technology and Telecommunication of TÜV Austria successfully passed a re-audit for maintaining the right to take part as CBTL in the international CB procedure.

The CCA procedure

The CCA procedure (Cenelec Certification Agreement) too serves as evidence of the conformity of electrical products to standards, but exclusively for the European market. The conditions and principles are similar to those of the CB procedure and confirm that the relevant European standards (EN) are being met. Since the licensing of medical technical equipment in the EU area is regulated by the directive 93/42/EEC, the CCA procedure does not have the same importance for medical technology than for example for information and telecommunication technology.

Product categories

For the Division for Medical Technology, Telecommunication/EMC the CB-/CCA license is a useful complement of its service offer. With it TÜV Austria can offer its customers one-stop inspections and/or certifications which are recognized world-wide, e.g. for the United States of America or for Canada.

Autor:
Dipl.-Ing. Franz J. Fegerl