IEC standards can bepurchased from the IEC Webstore: http://webstore.iec.ch/

Please note that editions of standards that have been superseded by a new edition or that have been withdrawn cannot be ordered on-line. If you still need to obtain a withdrawn or replaced standard, paper copies may still be obtained by contacting the IEC Customer Service at custserv@iec.ch

The CB Bulletin is freely accessible from the following area: http://members.iecee.org/iecee/ieceemembers.nsf/cb_bulletin?OpenForm

IECEE Members can log in with their individual access codes in order to view National Differences and/or Group Difference.

Non-IECEE Members can purchase a 1 year subscription in order to access the National Differences and/or Group Differences through the IEC Webstore: http://webstore.iec.ch/

Please note that CE Marking is a symbol. The IEC and IECEE are not involved with it.

CE Marking is the symbol . The letters "CE" are the abbreviation of French phrase "Conformité Européene" which literaturely means "European Conformity". The term initially used was "EC Mark" and it was officially replaced by "CE Marking" in the Directive 93/68/EEC in 1993. "CE Marking" is now used in all EU official documents. "CE Mark" is also in use, but it is NOT the official term.

1. CE Marking on a product is a manufacturer's declaration that the product complies with the essential requirements of the relevant European health, safety and environmental protection legislations, in practice by many of the so-called Product Directives.*

*Product Directives contains the "essential requirements" and/or "performance levels" and "Harmonized Standards" to which the products must conform. Harmonized Standards are the technical specifications (European Standards or Harmonization Documents) which are established by several European standards agencies (CEN, CENELEC, etc).

CEN stands for European Committee for Standardization.

CENELEC stands for European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization.

2. CE Marking on a product indicates to governmental officials that the product may be legally placed on the market in their country.

3. CE Marking on a product ensures the free movement of the product within the EU single market, and

4. CE Marking on a product permits the withdrawal of the non-conforming products by customs and enforcement/vigilance authorities.

Therefore, we suggest you directly contact CENELEC as they will certainly be able to help you with your request. To contact them, please click here.

Currently, there are four ways for manufacturers to operate in the CB Scheme:

- Supervised Manufacturers' Testing (SMT), for details please refer to OD-CB2030

- Testing at Manufacturers' Premises (TMP), for details please refer to OD-CB2028

- Witnessed Manufacturer's Testing (WMT), for details please refer to OD-CB2029

- Recognised Manufacturer's Testing (RMT), for details please refer to OD-CB2031


Additional general documentation related to the above-mentioned programs:

- Use of Manufacturers' Test Laboratories: General Principles, please refer to OD-CB2027

- Assessment of Manufacturers Test Laboratories, please refer to OD-CB2032

All above documents can be accessed by clicking here

A. Certificates emitted by IECQ were valid for 3 years. In the CB Scheme, there is no validity limit for CB certificates, except that an NCB may challenge a CBTC that is more than 3 years old. May we continue with the 3 year validity?

The challenge is not related to the three years but essentially to the fact that manufacturers tend to change the provider of components and to make their product evolve, therefore the presumtion is that after 3 years the product may not be exactly the same as certified 3 years ago. One way or another I wish to maintain this three year validity period for the PV category as well.

B. Are there any Conformity Assessment Report templates or can we use/develop our own?

See IECEE 03, clause 3.5:

The Conformity Assessment Report (OD CB-FCS 117) is a complete packet of product and factory information developed by the NCB “A” and made available to the NCB “B” by the applicant. It includes the following conformity assessment details to demonstrate that the product/components and the factory quality system have been fully evaluated and meets all applicable requirements:

for the product:

• Information including product description, product test results, observations, National Differences, etc.);
• Any additional information required by NCB “Bs” (if applicable and requested by the applicant)

for the factory:

• Initial or Surveillance Factory Audit Report as applicable.
• Description of the arrangements made by NCB “A” to ensure ongoing compliance of the product with the requirements. (e.g. copy of the license)

C. The frequency of assessments / inspections currently is not defined in IECEE 03. We propose to have a frequency of once peer year. The lenght of these assessments / inspection currently isn't defined either. We propose to maintain the time frames as we would have done under the IECQ so as to avoid confusing the clients.

The IECEE leaves it up to the the individual NCBs to apply their own rules . The length of the assessment isn't really problem as it is a variable that takes into consideration the extent of the manufacturing unit and the scope of products.

D. The blank detail specifications used for certification within IECQ (IEC 61215 FR 0001 and FR 0002) will need to be updated completely for operation within IECEE seeing that there will no longer be a manufacturer agreement. Who will be in charge of updating these specifications?

At the moment, whilst awaiting that ETF 9 defines or develops the so called blank detail specifications, we have decided to let members continue to use blank detail specifications (BDS) as developed by PV GAP which were used by the previous administration. You will find additional information in the relevant area of the IECEE website. At the moment, it is not certain if these BDS will be updated in the future, however, for the time being we will proceed as before.

E. In what format shall issued IECEE PV certificates be reported to the IECEE Secretariat?

All certificats shall be issued through the CBTC on-line system or alternatively by using the word template.

For Safety aspects, the CB Scheme Test Certificate applies, while for Performance the CB Full Certification Scheme (CAC) applies.

The requirements in order to become a registered IECEE Technical Expert (Assessor) are:

• Education: Engineer or similar educational level
• Total work experience: 5 Years in the electrotechnical sector field
• Expertise, Experience & Asssessments: 10 full testing projects in the field of expertise
• Assessor training: In addition to training within the NCB and/or CBTL, IECEE training courses are mandatory.

The requirements in order to become a registered IECEE Lead Assessor are:

• Education: Graduate engineer or similar educational level
• Total work experience: 5 additional years at management level
• Expertise, Experience & Asssessments: 5 complete on-site assessments in the last 3 years (Note: Assessments outside IECEE may be taken into account)
• Assessor training: IECEE training courses are mandatory.

Both IECEE Technical Experts(Assessor) and IECEE Lead Assessors need to be sponsored by an IECEE National Certification Body (NCB) or IECEE CB Testing Laboratory (CBTL).