Unit 05

1. Risk category and assessment modules

In this unit, after clarifying the PED terminology used in the directive and guidelines,
we’ll learn how to classify the equipment, how to calculate the risk category and
how to read the PED charts 1 to 9.

The UK government's Department of Trade & Industry (DTI, now BEIS) was the first
to produce a helpful guide which is still used throughout the industry. The full
document (which still refers to the old modules) is attached to module 3 as a
reference document and should be used alongside this unit.

PED Terminology

The PED uses precise terminology. It is imperative that the PED implications of
these 'regular' words is understood, particularly when reading the guidelines. The
important terms are:

 Item of Pressure Equipment ( to be categorized in accordance to PED)

 Material - Base Material of Construction (plate, tube, bar…)
 Component - The basic manufactured parts that are used to construct items
of pressure equipment (nozzle, dished end, pipe fitting…).
 Assemblies (of items of pressure equipment)
 Installations (under end user’s responsibility)

It's very important to use the correct terminology as guidelines in particular are very
specific. As we'll see the Essential safety requirements apply to items of pressure
equipment and materials and components need to be treated in a different way
(refer to specific unit covering this subject)
The main difference between assemblies and installations is that installations are
not put into the market by the end user, who might decide not to CE mark it and
take responsibility.

Please refer to Unit 08 for a list of acronyms and specific terminology used in this
course.
Classification of Pressure Equipment

The PED defines five Risk categories: SEP (Sound Engineering Practice), I, II, III and
IV.
In order to calculate them, we need to know :

 Type of equipment
 State of fluid - liquid or gas
 Pressure (in bar) and Volume (in litres), or Nominal diameter DN (in mm)
 Fluid group of intended contents - Group 1 (dangerous) 
or Group 2 (non dangerous such as water, steam…). Note: CLP Regulation new fluid
classification will be mandatory from 1 June 2015.
The higher the risk, the higher the category and  the more onerous the conformity
assessment procedure.
Types of Equipment for Classification

 Vessels
 Steam Generators (water temp > 110 °C)
 Piping   (note difference from “pipe”)
 Safety Accessories
 Pressure Accessories
 Assemblies consisting of 2 or more of the above items of pressure
equipment

Fluid Groups

Group 1 fluids are dangerous. 

 Explosive and Extremely flammable

 Highly flammable and Flammable
 Very toxic and Toxic
 Oxidising

Group 2 fluids are all the fluid which do not fall under group 1 such as:

 Steam (water temperature above 110 °C)

 Water
 Nitrogen
 R- refrigerants, CO2
 All other fluids

Categorisation charts
The risk category of every item of pressure equipment can be calculated from one
of the 9 charts in PED. The following table shows which chart should be selected.
The HPi website includes the PED online tool to check risk category against these
charts.
http://www.eucertification.com/ce-certification-2/ped/pressure-vessel-calculator

Points to note for Pressure equipment

Determine category based on Volume AND Nominal Diameter and take the highest

category/worst scenario
Safety Devices are  always Category IV(unless they are for use on a specific
assembly)

For categorization of assemblies, each item included must be assessed individually

For assessment of integration, refer to Annex 1 ESR 2.3, 2.8, 2.9

For assessment of protection refer to Annex 1 ESR 2.10, 3.2.3
Conformity Modules
(see next units for details)
Category     Module 

0 =           SEP - sound engineering practice

I  =           A 
II  =          A2,  D1,  E1
III  =         B(des)+D,  B(des)+F,  B(prod)+E,  B(prod)+C2,  H
IV  =        B(prod)+D,  B(prod)+F,  G,  H1
The manufacturer chooses the module or combination of modules within the
category, based on his own circumstances (company size, production volume, test
facilities, number of design types)