GUIDE PPE - Cyprus Organization for the Promotion of Quality

Guide on PPE Directive
EuropeAid /114385/D/SV/CY
INTRODUCTION
This guide has been prepared in order to assist all parties involved in the application of Directive
89/686/EEC on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The legally binding text is the directive itself and its
implementation into the national legislation. Further guidance has been given by the Working Group of
Committee 98/37/EC in relation to the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive 89/686/EEC.
Any matter concerning the implementation or the practical application may be submitted to a Standing
Committee. The committee is constituted by representatives of Member States, who are, for the most part,
civil servants from Ministries of Labour or Industry, and presided by a representative of the European
Commission.
Representatives of other parties with an interest in the field of PPE are present with observer status.
These include, in particular, manufacturers of PPE represented by European Safety Federation (ESF) and
Federation of the European Sporting goods Industry (FESI), consumers represented by ANEC, the Trade
Unions represented by TUTB, the Notified Bodies, represented by the Horizontal Co-ordination, and the
standardization organizations, represented by CEN.
When a problem arising from interpretation or practical application of the directive is raised with the
Standing Committee, the Commission submits a proposed solution which is discussed by the Committee,
and expresses its opinion, by a vote if need be. Each Member State may register its point of view. The
Commission is required to take the utmost account of the opinion of the Standing Committee.
Since the directive came into force, the Standing Committee and the Commission have developed a
certain number of aids to interpreting and using the directive. These include a guide to the categorisation
of PPE (in other words to the application of the different conformity evaluation procedures to different
kinds of PPE), and a list of “Questions and Answers” to problems posed by the application of the directive.
These documents do not have legally binding force, but they are useful tools for harmonising
interpretation of the directive.
In addition, the Standing Committee discusses and approves the Recommendation for Use sheets edited
by the Horizontal Co-ordination of Notified Bodies, which provide a guide for the application of the
evaluation procedures by these bodies.
This document focuses specially on issues relevant to PPE. The documents and recommendations of the
Standing Committee and the co-ordination of the Notified Bodies are taken into account. General
guidelines on the implementation of directives based on the New Approach and the Global Approach are
given by the Commission (so called The Blue Guide). This guide can be found at:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/newapproach/legislation/guide/legislation.htm
PPE DIRECTIVE 89/686/EEC
Council Directive 89/686/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the Member
States relating to personal protective equipment has been amended three times.
Amended by Council Directive 93/68/EEC; CE-marking
Amended by Council Directive 93/95/EEC; transitional period extended to 30 June 1995 and helmets and
visors intended for users of two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles were excluded from the scope.