Given the name I chose for my company, I'm particularly (some would probably say overly) sensitive to this issue, but here goes...
There is no such thing as a "Declaration of Conformance". The proper name for the document is (in the case of the European CE marking directives) is an "EC Declaration of Conformity". The EC Declaration of Conformity can only be issued by the product's manufacturer or, where that manufacturer is based outside the EU, someone who is taking responsibility for the CE marking of the product on behalf of the manufacturer. It is a document with a specific legal status and function, as described in each of the Directives which require it. There also exists a "Certificate of Conformity". This is a document which states that a particular item meets a particular specification or set of specifications. It can be issued by any one to anyone else, and its value is dependent on who issued it and what the person receiving it is expecting to see. Basically, it means all things to all people. That's not to say it has no value, simply that it is not the same thing as an EC DofC. Some might argue that there is also a need for a "Certificate of Compliance", "Verfication of Attestation", "Confirmation of Conformance" and a hundred and one other abominations of a paperwork nature. I would argue that all of these are, without exception, fancy names for a Certificate of Conformity. As engineers, we all know the value of accurate but simple language. It would help everyone involved in the conformity assessment and compliance world if the language we used to describe the paperwork with which we deal on a day-by-day basis with as much care as the language which describes all the other technical issues we handle. Regards to all. Nick. - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to emc-p...@ieee.org Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas emcp...@ptcnh.net Mike Cantwell mcantw...@ieee.org For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org David Heald: emc-p...@daveheald.com All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email ______________________________________________________________________
