What the presumption of conformity is
Where a piece of protective equipment is made and certified to a harmonised standard, it is presumed to meet the essential health and safety requirements that the standard covers. The presumption makes life simpler for the manufacturer and the buyer alike: the requirements do not have to be demonstrated one by one for every product.
Withdrawal ends the presumption
When the standard is withdrawn, the presumption falls away. That does not mean the product became useless overnight — the product is what it always was. What changed is that its conformity can no longer be shown by pointing at the standard. In practice:
- new purchases must follow the current standard,
- stock and equipment already in the field are reviewed against the risk assessment, at the latest at the next renewal,
- the version of the supplier's documentation is recorded.
Why it has to live in the inventory
This information is not written on the product. A helmet label carries the number of a standard; it does not say whether that standard is still in force. An inventory that does not track standard status can keep buying to a withdrawn standard for years, and will find out only in an inspection or after an accident.
How this stands in Optifora
The product carries 220 standards attached to PPE types together with their status, and 16 of them have a recorded withdrawal date. When the selection screen proposes a type it shows the standard's status as well — because a list that quietly recommends a withdrawn standard is a list that makes the wrong purchase easy.