If you don’t understand the principles of CE marking, you are inclined to rely on what your suppliers or customers tell you. But is what they say correct? And because you don’t you want to trust that the certification route proposed by third party test laboratories or certification bodies is really in your best interest. But are you sure there isn’t a faster or more cost effective solution? Do you feel you are driving your company’s CE marking project? Or do you feel you are taken for a ride?
For example, do you know the biggest CE certification myth? The one that made a lot of companies waste a lot of money
Let me unravel the biggest myth in CE marking:
Myth: “To get CE marking, products must be tested and certified by a third party certification body”.
Huh? What does that mean, “myth”? Does it mean that in CE certification no third party certification body must be involved?
That’s right. In almost 90% of the cases, the CE marking regulations allow products to be self-certified for CE marking. In other words, you can do the CE marking yourself and you are not required to have the product certified by a third party certification body. Isn’t that amazing? Obviously, CE marking self-certification can save you a lot of time and money.
You haven’t read that on the websites of test laboratories and certification bodies, have you?
I didn’t think so.
But I do think that you may still have a many questions about CE marking. Questions like:
“How do I do CE self-certification? Which requirements apply? Who is responsible for the CE marking? Where can I find the requirements? How do I conduct the conformity assessment? Where do I register for CE marking? What kind of paperwork do I need to complete and how do I do that? Where do I start and where do I go next?” These questions can make you feel insecure about doing CE self-certification. You may ask yourself if you are qualified to do CE self-certification.
Doesn’t certification require a special education or many years of experience?
No, you do not need a special education to do CE certification. And don’t forget you and your colleagues have a lot of expertise about your company’s products. More than any third party certification body. And with the right tools, the CE marking assessment is not complicated. Let me show you how that works.
First, let’s look at what a certification body does. A certification body verifies the compliance of a product by conducting a conformity assessment. It also ensures that the technical documentation sufficiently supports product compliance. And when the certification body is convinced of product compliance, it issues a certificate to confirm this.
In order to be able to give this confirmation, the certification body’s assessors not only need to know the product requirements, but they also need to have a thorough understanding how the requirements apply to a great variety of products. Actually, the biggest challenge for a certification body is related to getting and maintaining its expertise for many different products.
With self-certification you don’t have that problem
You only have to focus on your products. And while a certification body needs to spend a lot of time learning about your product, you already have that expertise. For that reason you can focus on understanding the requirements that apply to your products, and how you must perform the conformity assessment to ensure product compliance. In other words, you can concentrate on understanding what you need to get CE marking with self-certification.
What do you need to get CE marking with self-certification?
I’ve identified THE FIVE KEY INGREDIENTS that are essential for success in CE self-certification, but are missing from every CE marking course, books and websites I’ve checked out.
Very simply, the reason many people don’t succeed in CE marking is because they’re missing one or more of these key ingredients:
KEY INGREDIENT # 1: Understanding what the CE marking is really all about.
This is where at least 90% of the people who fail in CE marking miss the boat. They spend thousands of dollars and burn countless hours going down dead end streets and blind alleys because they’re missing this information. As far as I know, there is no other place to go to get all the content I will share with you.
KEY INGREDIENT # 2: Knowing how to find and pick the right directives and standards.
This is the single most important step in CE certification. Get it wrong and your products may be banned from the European market. And all your effort would be in vain. That is why I will personally help you to determine the applicable directives and standards.
KEY INGREDIENT # 3: Following a path with comprehensive steps that gets you started and leads you to your destination.
KEY INGREDIENT # 4: Getting set up with the right tools
Over half the questions I get from companies have to do with tools, which ones to use and how to use them. I will put the right tools in your hands to get you started and to help you complete the process.
KEY INGREDIENT # 5: Getting access to support
With comprehensive instructions and good tools you can achieve your goals. But there will be times when you’ll want to touch base with an expert who will coach you and support you. With my solution that is included.
Do you want to know how I will empower you to do the CE marking certification yourself and save thousands of dollars on certification costs?
Remember, you can continue to burn hours searching on the Internet, only to find information that is fluffy, incomplete and totally scattered. You can choose to trust that the costly services proposed by third party test laboratories and certification bodies are really in your company’s best interest.
But, if you want to take control over your CE marking projects…if you want to start with CE marking today…if you want to complete the process in as early as one week…and if you want to save a substantial amount of money in the process, my solution is your best option. Check out how you can “Cut the 3rd Party From CE Certification”: Go to http://www.cemarking.net click on “Products” and click on the Six Boxes Home Study
Han Zuyderwijk is an author, speaker and consultant based in the Netherlands. His company, Alura Group, develops CE certification self-help systems for small and medium sized companies that export technical products to Europe. His clients seek his counsel on optimizing CE certification processes. This extends to regulatory issues, quality management and product liability.
Han’s articles have been published in over a dozen magazines and trade journals. His communicational skills have resulted in many invitations as a guest speaker and lecturer at events in the United States, China, Russia and most European countries
