The Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 1974 Act” means the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974(1);

“the 1978 Order” means the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978(2);

“the 1987 Act” means the Consumer Protection Act 1987(3);

“the 1999 Regulations” means the Pressure Equipment Regulations 1999(4);

“accreditation” has the meaning set out in point 10 of Article 2 of RAMS;

“accreditation certificate” means a certificate, issued by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service or a national accreditation body in another member State, attesting that a conformity assessment body meets the notified body requirements or the user inspectorate requirements;

“applicant” means any person making an application for a conformity assessment procedure to be carried out by a notified body;

“assembly” means several pieces of pressure equipment assembled by a manufacturer to constitute an integrated and functional whole;

“authorised representative” means a person appointed in accordance with regulation 19(1) (Manufacturer’s authorised representatives);

“CE marking” means a marking which takes the form set out in Annex II of RAMS (as amended from time to time);

“Commission” means the European Commission;

“conformity assessment” means the process demonstrating whether the essential requirements relating to pressure equipment or assemblies have been fulfilled;

“conformity assessment activities” means any activities involved in conformity assessment, including calibration, testing, certification and inspection;

“conformity assessment body” means a person that performs conformity assessment activities;

“conformity assessment procedure” means a procedure for conformity assessment set out in Annex III to the Directive (as amended from time to time);

“the Directive” means Directive 2014/68/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15th May 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the member States relating to the making available on the market of pressure equipment (recast)(5);

“designating authority” means the Secretary of State;

“distributor” means any person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes pressure equipment or an assembly available on the market;

“district council” means a district council within the meaning of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972(6);

“economic operator” means a manufacturer, an importer or a distributor;

“enforcing authority” means any person enforcing these Regulations under regulation 67 (enforcement);

“essential safety requirements” means the requirements set out in Schedule 2;

“EU declaration of conformity” means a declaration of conformity drawn up in accordance with regulation 48 (EU declaration of conformity);

“European approval for materials” means a technical document defining the characteristics of materials intended for repeated use in the manufacture of pressure equipment which are not covered by any harmonised standard;

“fluids” means gases, liquids and vapours in pure phase as well as mixtures thereof; fluids may contain a suspension of solids;

“fluid in Group 1” has the meaning set out in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 3;

“fluid in Group 2” has the meaning set out in paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 3;

“harmonised standard” has the meaning set out in Article 2(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation(7) (as amended from time to time);

“importer” means any person who—

(a)

is established in the EU; and

(b)

places pressure equipment or an assembly from a third country on the EU market;

“make available on the market” means the supply of pressure equipment or an assembly for distribution, consumption or use on the EU market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge, and related expressions are to be construed accordingly;

“manufacturer” means a person who—

(c)

manufactures pressure equipment or an assembly, or has such equipment or assembly designed or manufactured; and either—

(d)

markets that pressure equipment under that person’s name or trade mark; or

(e)

uses it for his own purposes;

“market surveillance authority” has the meaning set out in regulation 66 (designation of market surveillance authority);

“maximum allowable pressure PS” means the maximum pressure for which the equipment is designed, as specified by the manufacturer, and defined at a location specified by the manufacturer, being either the connection of protective and/or limiting devices, or the top of equipment or, if not appropriate, any point specified;

“maximum/minimum allowable temperature TS” means the maximum/minimum temperatures for which the equipment is designed, as specified by the manufacturer;

“national accreditation body” has the meaning set out in point 11 of Article 2 of RAMS;

“nominal size (DN)” means a numerical designation of size which is common to all components in a piping system other than components indicated by outside diameters or by thread size; it is a convenient round number for reference purposes and is only loosely related to manufacturing dimensions; the nominal size is designated by DN followed by a number;

“notified body” means a body within the meaning of regulation 51;

“notified body requirements” means the requirements set out in Schedule 4;

“Official Journal” means the Official Journal of the European Union;

“permanent joints” means joints which cannot be disconnected except by destructive methods;

“piping” means piping components intended for the transport of fluids, when connected together for integration into a pressure system; piping includes in particular a pipe or system of pipes, tubing, fittings, expansion joints, hoses or other pressure-bearing components as appropriate; heat exchangers consisting of pipes for the purpose of cooling or heating air are to be considered as piping;

“place on the market” means make pressure equipment or an assembly available on the EU market for the first time, and related expressions are to be construed accordingly;

“pressure” means pressure relative to atmospheric pressure, i.e. gauge pressure; and as a consequence, vacuum is designated by a negative value;

“pressure accessories” means devices with an operational function and having pressure-bearing housings;

“pressure equipment” means vessels, piping, safety accessories and pressure accessories, including, where applicable, elements attached to pressurised parts such as flanges, nozzles, couplings, supports and lifting lugs;

“putting into service” means the first use of pressure equipment or an assembly by its user, and related expressions are to be construed accordingly;

“RAMS” means Regulation (EC) 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93(8);

“recall” means the taking of any measure aimed at achieving the return of pressure equipment or an assembly that has already been made available to the end-user and related expressions are to be construed accordingly;

“recognised third party organisation” is a body within the meaning set out in regulation 52;

“relevant conformity assessment procedure” means a conformity assessment procedure appropriate for the classification of the pressure equipment, as set out in regulation 42;

“relevant economic operator” means, in relation to pressure equipment or an assembly, an economic operator who has obligations in respect of that pressure equipment or assembly under these Regulations;

“safety accessories” means devices designed to protect pressure equipment against the allowable limits being exceeded, including devices for direct pressure limitation, such as safety valves, bursting disc safety devices, buckling rods, controlled safety pressure relief systems (CSPRS), and limiting devices, which either activate the means for correction or provide for shutdown or shutdown and lockout, such as pressure switches or temperature switches or fluid level switches and safety related measurement control and regulation (SRMCR) devices;

“technical documentation” has the meaning set out in regulation 10(2) (technical documentation and conformity assessment);

“technical specification” means a document that prescribes technical requirements to be fulfilled by pressure equipment or an assembly;

“user inspectorate” is a body within the meaning set out in regulation 53 (User inspectorates);

“user inspectorate requirements” means the requirements set out in Schedule 5;

“vessel” means a housing designed and built to contain fluids under pressure including its direct attachments up to the coupling point connecting it to other equipment; a vessel may be composed of more than one chamber;

“volume (V)” means the internal volume of a chamber, including the volume of nozzles to the first connection or weld and excluding the volume of permanent internal parts;

“weights and measures authority” means a local weights and measures authority within the meaning of section 69 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985(9);

“withdrawal”, when used in relation to pressure equipment or an assembly, means the taking of any measure aimed at preventing pressure equipment or an assembly in the supply chain from being made available on the market, and related expressions must be construed accordingly.

(2) In these Regulations, a reference to pressure equipment being “in conformity with Part 2” means that—

(a) pressure equipment is in conformity with the essential safety requirements; and

(b) each relevant economic operator has complied, or is complying, with the obligations imposed on them under Part 2 of these Regulations which must be satisfied at or before the time at which they made the pressure equipment or assembly available on the market.

(3) In regulations 16 and 26, “risk” means a risk which could arise from lawful and readily predictable human behaviour.

(4) In the other provisions of these Regulations (except Schedule 2), “risk” means a risk—

(a) which could arise from lawful and readily predictable human behaviour; and

(b) which may result in harm to any of the following interests—

(i) the health and safety of persons;

(ii) domestic animals; or

(iii) property.

(5) In these Regulations, a reference to a member State is to be read as a reference to an EEA State and references to the EU are to be read as references to the European Economic Area.

(6) In these Regulations, the definition of a manufacturer does not include a private person who manufactures pressure equipment or an assembly on an occasional basis for their own use in a non-commercial context.

(1)

1974 c.37.

(2)

S.I. 1978/1039 (N.I. 9).

(3)

1987 c.43.

(4)

S.I. 1999/2001 as amended by S.I. 2002/1267, S.I. 2008/1597, 2012/1809, S.I. 2014/469, S.I. 2015/399.

(5)

OJ No L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 164, as corrected by OJ No L 157, 23.6.2015, p112.

(6)

1972 c.9.

(7)

OJ No L 316, 14.11.2012, p12.

(8)

OJ No L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30.

(9)

1985 c.72; section 69 was amended by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1989 (c.43), Schedule 1, paragraph 4, the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39), Schedule 13, paragraph 144 and the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c.19), Schedule 16, paragraph 75.