The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 97/23/EC which affects equipment operating at a pressure greater than 0.5 bar, entered into force on 29th November 1999 and is mandatory from 29th May 2002.

The Pressure Equipment Directive is one of the EU New Approach Directives. The main route to compliance is by demonstrating that a product satisfies the “essential safety requirements” (ESRs). The ESRs place precise requirements against risk assessment, materials of use, product design, manufacture, final inspection and test, marking and labelling and supporting documentation.

PED is generally considered one of, if not the most complex and difficult to comprehend of the new approach directives. Many organisations, particularly small and medium sized companies, with limited resources to allocate specifically to the task of conformance, are reporting difficulties in interpretation and application. The PED impacts upon design, production, final inspection/test, marking and labelling and instructions for use/maintenance. Therefore, in most affected companies no single person will be able to resolve all issues, particularly when choosing to apply a quality assurance module.

The PED requires that each affected item of pressure equipment be categorised according to specific criteria. If you are not fully acquainted with the directive this process can be time consuming and can result in costly errors. The Directive provides many options and routes to conformity, inappropriate choice can lead to considerable third party inspection costs.