What does PED stand for?
Pressure Equipment Directive

What is the Pressure Equipment Directive?
It is a European law, which applies to the safety of pressure equipment.

Does it apply to Fire Extinguishers?
Yes it applies to every type of portable extinguisher.

When does the Directive come into force in the UK?
30th May 2002.
This means that all extinguishers manufactured on or after this date will by law have to comply with the Directive.

What will manufacturers need to do to comply with the Directive?

Construct a technical file for each model, which demonstrates that the product’s materials and construction ensure that it is safe for use in its intended function.

Identify all areas of risk and warn against them.

Introduce a material traceability system into the factory, so that all pressure related materials could be traced right back to the raw material source.

Redesign the information on the extinguisher, so as to incorporate all the marking requirements of the P.E.D., including the CE mark.

Update the documented Quality system so as to comply with all elements of the Directive.

How will manufacturers gain approval against the Directive?

They will have to enter into a contract with a Notified Body (an organisation which has been appointed by the European Parliament to assess and approve manufacturers).

The Notified Body will:

Appraise each technical file.
Ensure that all materials used for the construction of each model meet the requirements of the Directive.

Witness the testing of each model.
Appraise the documented Quality system.

Assess working practices against the documented Quality system.
Ensure that certain key staff (e.g. welders) have the correct qualifications.

How will you know that an extinguisher complies?
When a manufactured has been assessed and approved against the directive by a Notified Body they will be issued with an EC type or design examination certificate.

The manufacturer will then be required to mark each extinguisher with the symbol of compliance (CE mark) and the Notified Body number and year of manufacture.

Each extinguisher will be supplied with a Declaration of Conformity.

How will the PED be monitored?
The notified body will carry out an assessment at the Manufacturer’s site.
Initially this will be done at 6 monthly intervals.

What about extinguishers which have been manufactured before 30th May 2002?
Extinguishers that are in stock can still be sold and there is no time limit in which they need to be sold.
The 30th May only relates to product that is being manufactured.

The new Directive does not have any affect on product that is already in service.

You can contact Fire and Safety Services for further information about how the directive may affect you. Further details of the Directive can be found on the DTI's website at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/strd/pressure.html

For a full copy of the Directive you can visit the Pressure Equipment Directive Website at: http://ped.eurodyn.com/cgi-bin/show?base=http://ped.eurodyn.com/directive/directive.html&loc=/9898/directive/directive.html