What the marking says, and what it does not
The conformity marking on a product is the manufacturer's declaration that “this product meets the requirements of the relevant legislation”. It is not a quality star, a performance grade or a recommendation. Nor does it say which risk the product protects against, or how much: that is what the standard number and the performance class say.
The real document: the declaration of conformity
It comes with the product and contains:
- the manufacturer and product identity,
- the product's category,
- the harmonised standards applied,
- for categories II and III, the notified body that carried out type examination,
- for category III, the body carrying out production surveillance.
In an inspection, and after an accident, this document is the only written answer to “which risk was this equipment chosen for”.
Instructions are mandatory too
The product must be accompanied by information on use, storage, cleaning, maintenance and service life, in a language the user understands. Equipment delivered without instructions is delivered incomplete.
What purchasing should do
The declaration and the instructions must be attached to the product record at the moment of purchase. Asking the supplier afterwards usually fails: the model changes, the supplier changes, the version of the document changes. Where the inventory holds the standard, the category and the document beside the product, a withdrawal or a finding can be traced to every affected item with a single query.