Viewpoint: spreading awareness of the EU rules on illegal boosters

Through its network of national trade associations and Europump (the European Association of Pump Manufacturers), the European pump sector has for many years been working with the European Commission to ensure the introduction of appropriate legislation covering health and safety, the environment and energy reduction.

Europump has led much of this work, especially on the energy front, through its EcoPump initiative and the BPMA – along with its members – have been at the forefront of this work.

To enhance this process, BPMA member companies have joined together under its ‘buy with confidence’ initiative to ensure that its members are fully compliant, and in doing so, provide a professional advisory service detailing the legislative implementation process.

This is not only to protect the safety of users, but also to ensure the integrity of our environment and protect our sector and its employees from those who seek to undermine the legal process and bypass the cost and impact of proper implementation

However, there remains a significant number of suppliers who continue to feed illegal booster sets into the UK market. If you are buying from these organisations, you not only put at risk the safety of users, but you may also be acting illegally.

What to look out for

A number of booster set suppliers believe that it is acceptable to simply bring together components such as pumps, drives and controls and rely on the CE marking placed on those individual items as compliance for the set; this however is not the case.

The complete set is a machine in its own right and must therefore have a label affixed with a CE mark and be Pumps, Valves&Flow supported by all the appropriate documentation, including a Declaration of Conformity.

As a complete machine, the booster set will need to have its own identification label affixed with an appropriate CE mark and will need to comply with the correct legislation.

The label will need to carry a minimum amount of information, such as a serial number, product type, supplyvoltage and performance data, along with details of the manufacturer and where the set was made. But this is only the start of the process, as other vital assessments need to be made and documents provided.

The paper chain

Each set will need to be supplied with a full and comprehensive instruction manual. The set will also need to be supplied with a Declaration of Conformity referencing the appropriate legislation and standards where applicable. Most importantly, however, the set manufacturer will need to prepare a technical file.

This file, although not published externally, will need to cover a great deal of material, including risk evaluation, product data, product features, production methodology and health and safety considerations. The typical file runs to 168 pages and benefits from independent scrutiny during its preparation.

Because of the pump sector’s huge capital investment and the time its experts have spent on these issues, the BPMA is keen to ensure that all pumps and booster sets placed on the UK market are fully compliant.

This is not only to protect the safety of users, but also to ensure the integrity of our environment and protect our sector and its employees from those who seek to undermine the legal process and bypass the cost and impact of proper implementation.