The Simple Pressure Vessels (Safety) Regulations 1991

EC certificate of conformity

13.—(1) In cases where the manufacturer of vessels in Category A.2 or A.3 elects not to apply for EC verification, he may instead by means of the following procedure obtain an EC certificate of conformity.

(2) Application for a certificate of conformity must, before commencement of series manufacture, be made to the approved body which issued the relevant EC certificate of adequacy or EC type-examination certificate (as the case may be) and be accompanied by a document in which are described–

(a) the processes by which the vessels are to be manufactured; and

(b) all the measures which are to be taken to ensure that the vessels when manufactured conform with a relevant national standard or (as the case may be) with the relevant prototype.

(3) The document must–

(a) specify the address of any place where the vessels (or relevant assemblies incorporating the vessels) are to be manufactured or stored by or on behalf of the manufacturer of the vessels, and the proposed date of commencement of manufacture;

(b) be accompanied by the design and manufacturing schedule conforming with Schedule 3 including so much as has become available of any information required to be comprised in that schedule;

(c) specify the tests which are to be carried out in the course of manufacture, and the procedures by which and the frequency with which they are to be performed; and

(d) include undertakings as follows–

(i) that those tests will be carried out as specified;

(ii) that there will be carried out on each vessel a hydrostatic test (or a pneumatic test of equivalent effect in accordance with safety procedures accepted in the country where it is carried out) at a pressure equal to 1.5 times the vessel’s design pressure (which is the gauge pressure chosen by the manufacturer and used to determine the thickness of the pressurised components); and

(iii) that all the tests referred to above will be carried out by or under the responsibility of appropriately qualified personnel (who must be suffici ently independent from production personnel), and will be the subject of written reports by those personnel.

(4) A United Kingdom approved body to which such application is made shall, if satisfied–

(a) that the document and the schedule contain all the required information; and

(b) that vessels manufactured in accordance with the document and schedule will conform with a relevant national standard or, if not, then with the essential safety requirements specified in Schedule 1,

issue a certificate of conformity accordingly, covering the vessels proposed to be manufactured.

(5) If the United Kingdom approved body is not so satisfied and refuses to issue a certificate of conformity, it shall make known in writing to the manufacturer the reasons for the refusal.