FEATURE TEST & CERTIFICATION


THE CATCH-ALL PRODUCT SAFETY DIRECTIVE T


he General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC (GPSD) applies to the safety


of all new and second-hand products supplied to consumers for personal use, covering any products that do not fall under other EU directives. Regardless of what happens with Brexit, the


actual requirements for producing compliant products will have little effect from a legal perspective. As the EU Directives are transposed into UK National Law, the UK already has a legal system in place that applies. While there will be text amendments to reflect UK legislative requirements, UK designated standards will remain the same as EU harmonised standards to maintain a single standards model. As well as obliging manufacturers and


distributors to supply products that are safe, the GPSD also requires them to provide relevant information that enables consumers to assess risk. This should include information on measures that the consumer can take to mitigate risks, such as wearing protective gloves. Other measures that the manufacturer must take include:


Appropriately marking the product, packaging and instructions


Sample testing products on the market


Investigating complaints relating to safety and keeping a register of such complaints


Informing distributors of the monitoring work and results


For distributors, the Directive requires them to act with due care to help ensure that products are safe, and they must not supply products known to be dangerous. This means that they should ensure that consumers are informed about any product’s risks highlighted by the manufacturer. Distributors must feed back up the chain


to the manufacturer if there are any safety complaints, or other safety related matters from customers. They are also obliged to co-operate with authorities and others within the supply chain in taking action to avoid or remove those risks, keeping documentation that enables the origin of any unsafe products to be traced. In order to demonstrate product safety,


best practice advice would be to use European Union harmonised standards wherever possible. They are well regarded and proven to address known safety hazards. But of course, the correct selection of the appropriate standard is critical as it should address the potential hazards presented by the product type. There are several routes that could be taken to assess product safety. The first


26 WINTER 2019 | INDUSTRIAL COMPLIANCE


is conformity with a voluntary standard that has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Otherwise, if there is no specific regulation or national safety law which could be applied, safety can be assessed taking into account:


Voluntary European standards – not published in Official Journal


Community technical specifications National standards and regulations Industry codes of practice State of the art and technology


Safety which consumers may reasonably expect


Member States are obliged to enforce the requirements of the GPSD upon producers and distributors. They must appoint the authorities in charge of market surveillance and enforcement as well as monitor, intervene and impose penalties if unsafe goods are identified. If a product is found to be unsafe, but


the distributor is already taking action, then enforcement action is not necessary. However, depending on the seriousness of risk, authorities can suspend the product, pending investigation; issue a requirement to mark the product and warn consumers; as


well as issue withdrawal and recall notices, with the likelihood of product destruction. Failure to comply may also result in fines and/or imprisonment. Despite the possible severity of non-


compliance, the GPSD is still rarely recognised or understood by those within the supply chain. This is because that while the Directive applies to the supply of all new and second- hand products to consumers for personal use, this definition may not be as clear as it first seems. For example, a tractor may be considered an industrial product, but consumers can hire it for their own use. The Directive also covers all methods of supply, including those that are sold, leased, hired, lent or part exchanged and applies irrespective of the sales channel used. The GPSD states that: “Any defence should


be able to show that all reasonable steps and all exercised due diligence have been undertaken to avoid the commission of an offence.” If a product which you manufacturer or supply is later deemed to be unsafe, it is vital that you can prove due diligence in the manufacture and supply of that product. In other words, you must be properly prepared and confident in your safety case, be able to demonstrate compliance with relevant applicable directives, produce a comprehensive technical file, and declare that you have met the relevant requirements.


TÜV SÜD www.tuvsud.com/en-gb / INDUSTRIALCOMPLIANCE


In this article, Richard Poate, senior manager at TÜV SÜD, explains why manufacturers and distributors should observe the General Product Safety Directive


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