ATEX DIRECTIVE - HARMONISED STANDARDS

Info Sheet PO13 - Issue 1 : March 1996

Note: This Info Sheet is one of a series covering the ATEX Directive. For an introduction see
Info Sheet P010.

What are harmonised standards?

Harmonised standards are standards prepared by one of the European standardisation bodies CEN
(Comit Europen de Normalisation) and CENELEC (Comit Europen de Normalisation
Electrotechnique) under a mandate from the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) and
signified as providing a presumption of conformity with one or more of the essential requirements
when the number and title of the standards are published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities (OJEC).

How are harmonised standards created?

Harmonised standards may originate as existing standards or be created at the specific request of the
CEC. In either case the CEC will specify their requirements in a mandate to CEN and/or CENELEC
requesting standards to provide specific application to the more generally expressed essential
requirements in a directive. Existing standards may be suitable in their existing form or may require
amendment in order to address the essential requirements.
The process of creation or amendment is carried out by CEN or CENELEC as appropriate. The work is
assigned to the relevant Committee or, if none exists, a new committee is set up. The members of the
committee will be appointed by the member bodies of CEN or CENELEC. The member bodies are the
national standards bodies of each member country. In practice the appointment of members is
delegated to the corresponding committee at national level. The Chairman and Secretary of the
committee are appointed following consultation with the members.

The process of creating a standard starts with the adoption of the item on the work programme of the
committee. A draft is prepared, usually by a small working group or one of the members and is
circulated to national committees for their comments. The comments are discussed at a meeting of the
committee and a decision taken on either:

amending the draft for further discussion, or

putting the draft forward, possibly amended in line with the decision of the meeting, for public
comment.

Each national committee publicises the availability of the draft and sends copies to interested parties.
Comments are considered by the national committee before sending the official national comments to
the European Committee. The European committee considers the comments and decides either:

to put the document out for voting, possibly amended as the result of the decisions of the
meeting, or
to refer the draft back for further consideration.

Once the document is sent out for voting the national committees must decide whether to accept or
reject the document. The outcome of the vote is decided on the basis of a weighted majority of the
votes cast by the national committees.
The accepted document is translated into English, French and German by the European committee
and sent to the CEC for them to accept as a harmonised standard according to the mandate. Provided
that the document is acceptable, the CEC will publish the number and title in the OJEC together with a
reference to the directive to which it relates.
The published standards are produced by each national standards body in their own language and as
a direct transposition of the text into a national standard.

What about standards from other bodies?

There is an agreement between CENELEC and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to
co-ordinate their standards work. Thus if an IEC standard already exists or is in preparation it will be
used as the starting point for a CENELEC standard. In this way products produced in Europe should
be acceptable in other countries where IEC standards are used. Equally products from these countries
should comply with European requirements, to the extent that the IEC and CENELEC requirements
coincide.
National standards from one or more CEN or CENELEC member countries may be used as the basis
for a new standard. The national standard would be treated as a draft and be taken through all of the
stages described above.

What is the status of harmonised standards in relation to the Directive?

There is no legal requirement in the Directive for products to comply with harmonised standards. The
use of harmonised standards is at the choice of the manufacturer. It is expected to be the favoured
choice for two reasons:

It will be easier for the manufacturer to ascertain the specific requirements that his product will
have to meet.
It will facilitate the uniform application of the essential requirements by the Notified Bodies.

A product that conforms to a harmonised standard must be deemed to comply with the essential
requirement(s) to which that standard relates. Note that:

the standard may not cover all of the essential requirements

the conformity with the standard will still need to be checked by a Notified Body where EC Type
Examination or Unit Verification is required.

What are the harmonised standards for the ATEX Directive?

At present, no standards have been "harmonised" for the purpose of the ATEX Directive. For electrical
equipment there is a well-developed range of CENELEC standards that satisfy many though not all of
the essential requirements. It is expected that CENELEC will advise the Commission of the European
Communities of those standards which are regarded as satisfying particular essential requirements.

For more information and details of EECS services contact:

Electrical Equipment Certification Service
Health and Safety Executive
Harpur Hill
Buxton SK17 9JN
United Kingdom
[44] (0) 1298 28000 Fax: [44] (0) 1298 28244