Marine equipment regulations include a requirement for certification of various systems used on board ships in the United Kingdom. Previously, the “Ships Wheel,” or “Wheelmark,” designated that equipment had required accreditation and safety certificates issued by, or on behalf of, the Member States of the European Union.
Marine equipment assessment
Resulting of Brexit, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has implemented new regulations to establish UK conformity assessment procedures for certification of marine equipment, designated by a “Flag” mark that is now affixed to certified marine equipment. Conformity assessment is through an accreditation company, such as BSI Group.
Marine equipment requiring assessment includes life-saving appliances, marine pollution prevention, fire protection, navigation equipment, and radio-communication equipment. In some cases, both the “Flag” and a UKCA mark are required (e.g., fire extinguishers on board a ship). The UKCA mark indicates conformity with the applicable requirements for products sold in Great Britain.
Product safety and performance
With Brexit came the need to create UKCA, the UK-only mark that serves a similar purpose to the customary CE mark
Before Brexit in 2020, regulations on product safety and performance in the United Kingdom had been aligned with the European Union since 1974. Emblematic of that alignment was the use of the traditional CE mark on a variety of manufactured goods throughout the European Union, including the UK.
With Brexit came the need to create UKCA, the UK-only mark that serves a similar purpose to the customary CE mark. However, transitioning to the new mark has not been easy, and the government has delayed the deadline four times on the path to implementation. Economic issues and the global pandemic were among the factors contributing to the delays.
New UKCA mark
As it stands, as of Jan. 1, 2023, new products sold in the United Kingdom must use the new UKCA mark. Existing products have five more years to complete the transition, by 2027. Along with the new UKCA mark comes a new framework of standards and regulations on hundreds of products. Initially, the new framework is almost identical to the EU regulations relating to the CE mark.
However, as time passes, the two marks will represent diverging paths reflecting the differing priorities in the EU and the UK. For example, the EU will focus more on environmental issues and sustainability, while the UK will shift its focus to fire safety, driven by changing trends after the Grenfell Tower disaster.
Approved bodies
A factor slowing the implementation of the UKCA mark has been fewer “approved bodies,” companies that can evaluate products and manufacturers and award the mark.
Currently, there are only four approved bodies in the United Kingdom, far fewer than the 48 “notified bodies” previously available to award the CE mark. The lower capacity could cause bottlenecks as the 2023 deadline approaches.
Office for Product Safety and Standards
The OPSS rarely takes enforcement action against a company that makes a genuine mistake
The UK’s Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) enforces the use of the mark. Enforcement is not particularly aggressive and is mostly driven by complaints. Legal repercussions of non-compliance generally amount to a fine.
The OPSS rarely takes enforcement action against a company that makes a genuine mistake. The emphasis is to provide education about the benefits of the mark.
Certifications
“It’s difficult to know how many companies still need to get the mark, although thousands of UKCA certificates have been issued,” says Graham McKay, Global Head of Energy Products for BSI Group. “Companies like certainty, and many of them are taking the approach to get the certificate."
"We had a huge rush before the first deadline, less by the second and third (following postponement). There have been no big spikes as the new deadline approaches.” McKay admits that some companies have delayed pursuing the required UKCA certificates because they “hope it might all go away.”
But he reiterates that the reality is that it is not going to go away and therefore, companies need “to be planning for and taking the necessary steps to obtain the mark for their products”.
“The easiest solution is to get the piece of paper certifying your product,” says McKay.
BSI Group
BSI has driven best practices in organisations around the world, working with over 77,500 clients
BSI Group is a business improvement and standards company that enables organisations to turn standards of best practice into habits of excellence. BSI has driven best practices in organisations around the world, working with over 77,500 clients across 195 countries. They have assessors in 90-plus countries to evaluate products.
The company operates both inside and outside the European Union. For example, they are a “notified body” in the Netherlands and can provide a company with both UKCA and CE certificates in a single “package” based on one product evaluation and factory inspection. Whether a product receives the CE or the UKCA mark depends on where they want to sell their products.
British Standards Institution
British Standards Institution (BSI) is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on various products and services and supplies certification and standards-related services to businesses.
For companies that do not want to have their products retested for the UKCA mark, BSI proactively made “mutual recognition” agreements with similar organisations, including IMQ Group in Italy and DVGW in Germany. The move helps to minimise the need for duplicate or repeat testing.