INTRODUCTION
TO
LOVAG
CERTIFICATION
SCHEME

 

1. GENERALITIES

The certification scheme is the set of regulations on the basis of which the certificate of conformity with the referred Standards is issued, maintained, suspended or withdrawn.

  • LOVAG scheme complies with the Standard EN ISO/IEC 17065 "Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services" and with the LOVAG Agreement and LOVAG Rules.
  • A LOVAG Certificate is a Certificate of conformity to IEC and/or EN Standards.
  • A LOVAG Mark Licence stands for conformity to IEC or EN Standards and for ongoing supervision by factory inspections and market surveillance.
  • The LOVAG Certificate and the LOVAG Mark licence are issued by one of the signatories under the LOVAG mutual recognition agreement between the signatories (from now on named LCB=LOVAG Certification Body)
  • The LOVAG Certificate and the LOVAG Mark Licence are issued by a LOVAG member for low voltage electrical apparatus for industrial purpose
  • The LCBs are listed in the LOVAG website: www.lovag.net
  • LOVAG certificate is a type testing certificate according to EN ISO/IEC 17065. Moreover, for the LOVAG Mark Licence the surveillance of the production is requested.
  • The certificates of conformity issued by LOVAG members certify that the tested sample complies with the relevant European or International Standards or with a test sequence of these Standards.
  • The responsibility for the conformity of any equipment having the same designation with that tested lies with the manufacturer or the applicant of the LOVAG Mark.

   

2. PRODUCTS AND PERFORMANCES SUBJECT TO CERTIFICATION

A LOVAG Certificate may be issued for:

  1. a single product
  2. homogeneous series of product, that is, products having the fundamental parts in common and differing in some components only (e.g. a series of identical circuit breakers with different releases).

A LOVAG Certificate can be issued for tests to:

  1. the complete standard
  2. a sequence(s), if any, as defined in a standard.
  3. an individual requirement not included in a sequence, if mentioned in a standard

A LOVAG Mark Licence may be issued for tests to the complete standard, only.

A LOVAG Certificate can be issued for the products which - according to the Manufacturer’s declaration - differ for the brand name only, by performing the tests on one of them only, making visual comparison checks between them and issuing for each of them a certificate.

A LOVAG Mark Licence can only be granted for products from one manufacturing facility.

 

3. REQUIREMENTS OF CERTIFICATION APPLICANTS

  • A LOVAG Certificate can be issued to a manufacturer or a responsible applicant.
  • If the applicant is not the manufacturer of the product to be certified, he shall obtain a written authorization from the manifacturer and he must have a legal entity.
  • The applicant shall provide all the necessary documentation for the identification of the product subject to the certification.
  • The applicant is the direct interlocutor of the LCB during the certification process.

 

4. CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE

4.1 Application for Certification or LOVAG Mark Licence

The application shall be made to the LCB.

The manufacturer and the applicant shall always be made known to the LCB.

4.2 LOVAG registered laboratories

The certificates are issued on the basis of tests carried out in laboratories registered by LOVAG, complying with the Standards ISO/IEC 17025 and performing tests according to LOVAG rules. They are identified in the certificate with the LOVAG code.

LCB, after checking the application, appoints, in agreement with the applicant, the laboratory which operates on its behalf.

4.3 Test procedure and test report

The tests are carried out in compliance with the LOVAG test instructions and recorded by the LOVAG test report forms.

The sample under test must be representative of the production.

The LCB verifies the correspondence of the samples with the identification documents.

They must be kept and must be available for examination by the LCB.

An observer, responsible towards the LCB, staff of the laboratory, witnesses the tests in order to ensure that they are performed in accordance with LOVAG requirements, LCB carries out the supervision.

The LCB reserves the right, for justified reasons, to witness the repetition of any test before issuing a certificate.

 

5. USE OF CERTIFICATES

The applicant shall guarantee a correct use of the certificate and, in particular, he: 

  • shall distribute only integral reproduction of the Certificate or reproductions of the front page accompanied by any page(s) on which are stated the tests performed and the assigned rated characteristics of the apparatus tested.
  • shall not use it to certify compliance with the Standards of products different from the tested one.

 

6. COMMITMENTS OF A HOLDER OF A LOVAG MARK LICENCE

The holder of a licence to use the LOVAG Mark is obliged

  • to maintain continuous conformity of the product listed with the LOVAG Mark to the tested sample,
  • to make sure that the products that he has placed on the market constantly comply with the regulatory requirements applicable to them, including the health and safety requirements.

 

7. SURVEILLANCE ON THE USE OF THE CERTIFICATES

The LCB reserves the right to ask information on the use of the certificates to verify the compliance with the prescriptions of clause 5.

 

8. SURVEILLANCE OF THE CONFORMITY OF PRODUCT LISTED TO THE MARK

The LCB granting the LOVAG Mark is responsible to conduct a surveillance program to ensure  

  • that the product placed on the market complies with that for which the right to use the Mark was granted
  • that the holder of the licence respects the obligations for which he is formally committed.

This surveillance consists of audits in manufacturing sites (or distribution ones), sampling for examination and tests of conformity of the product.

 

9. SUSPENDING AND CANCELLATION OF THE CERTIFICATE OR THE LICENCE

The LCB reserves the right to suspend the certificate or the licence to use the LOVAG Mark, i.e. to prohibit temporarily its use, when it is verified that the applicant has not complied with the conditions set out in clause 5) or 6) above.

The LCB reserves the right to cancel the certificate or to withdraw the licence if further investigations and relationsships with the applicant after the suspension do not lead to adequate corrective measures.

 

10. CLAIMS

The applicant can appeal against the decisions of not issue, suspension and cancellation of the certificates making a written request to the LCB within 30 days from the notification of the decision.

 

11. CONFIDENTIALITY

The LCB guarantees to the Applicant the confidentiality of the information on the products object of the certification and on the relevant documentation.