Ynyr, Happy this thing is coming back again.
1. Since the LVD standards are not listed in the OJ in the same way as EMC standards, we must look to national law for guidance regarding the date of adoption. In what way are the LVD Standards different than the EMC Standards and why ??? The following scenario is in my mind: A good solid manufacturer in Upper Slobovia makes first class widgits that fall under the provisions of the LVD. He therefore makes sure that the widgits meet all the national requirements for Upper Slobovia and does a Declaration of Conformity, and has an 3rd Party test house of impeccable reputation verify his claims and construct a technical file for him, to back up his claims. A vile opportunistic distributor in lower slobovia (which has the same requirements as Upper Slobovia) buys a big lot of his widgits and exports them to Middle Scandinavia. That is where the speech impediments are least noticeable, but the possibility of obtaining good Earth are worst. Middle Scandinavia therefore has all manner of exemptions in its version of 60 950, to deal with that problem. Under the provisions of the LVD, the Upper Slobovian product has a legitimate CE marking and member states are not allowed to question that marking or block the product.(73/23/EEC Articles 4 and 5). The LVD rejects the notion of additional or more stringent requirements, and how on earth is a lower slobovian to know that Middle Scandinavians still haven't fixed the Earth ? It would seem that a couple of electrocuted Middle Scandinavians is a small price to pay for free movement of goods ?? 2. The UK law provides a good model. The LVD is transposed into UK law in the "Electrical Safety Regulations" The only good model the UK provides, is English Breakfast, if you aren't lucky enough to get an Irish Breakfast (all other meals west of the Channel, including bangers, have been officially declared unfit for human consumption by le Department des Nourritures). What we have here is ethnocentrism at its worst. We hope to explore this issue in more detail during the Santa Clara Approvals Seminar Scheduled for 16th/17th April. Having lived and worked for almost 10 years in Mountain View CA, just a couple of towns north on El Camino Royal from Santa Clara, and having nothing but admiration for "the valley" and all it has to offer in enlightenment, still, I find it a strange place to explore the intricacies (idiosynchracies) of European regulations. (you should go and celebrate the end of your seminar in the Santa Cruz mountains. Take the crew to the Tyrolian Inn, in Ben Lomond. Say hello to Herr Wolf from me.) Ciao, Vic
