On a technicality we are still members of the E.U until the negotiations are settled, presumably in the culmination of an amnesty for those foreign citizens who are already here and those Britons abroad, this would need to be limited though if done properly, to make sure the treaty can't be abused in practice.

It could be decided that many of the laws initiated under the E.U would still be adhered to and a formal legal arrangement would need to be setup in order to make sure new products still comply to the C.E standard.

This would be completely necessary because if we were to ignore the legislature and simply carry on as normal, there is no formal framework on which to base our own quality assessments in the future.

I imagine that the full disentanglement will take around 10 years. We will need to decide on everything we wish to keep and enact that, and discard everything we don't want.

So as you can see, the question is never "will we" have a CE mark, but more like "how and what form will it take".

The UK has on the most part been a very negotiable country and it's more a question of how open the other parties are to discussion rather than the other way around.

Michael W

That is not the case with steel boilers as in traction engines, as if sold commercially a notified body normally checks the design, the welder qualifcation records and the final pressure test, along with possibly intermediate inspections.

Steve

A sizeable proportion of EU standards throughout industry have been derived from the British ISO & BSS standards. The British Standards Institute have enabled themselves to be self financing to a large extent by the sale of these standards to the EU. They also offered advice & have been at the forefront  in formation of new standards. So in a lot of cases the changes would not actually be that difficult.

However, I am not sure how the standards applicable to the model engineering hobby would alter. Obviously other countries had input such as the French Agrement certification scheme which was combined with things such as the BBA etc & these may be bread & butter for the lawyers

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 01/08/2016 18:52:25

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Sad though, that so much of British "manufacturing" involves the assembly of imported parts and slapping a sticker on.

MichaelG.

I wouldn't have such nonsense under my watch. When i say made, i mean made in Britain!

Michael W

A even more awkward question is "When will the UK really be out of the EU?"

Nothing happens until Article 50 is invoked by us and we don't appear to be ready to do that yet. The Brexit campaign didn't cover any of the details, there isn't a single vision, there are many risks, and cost/benefit of the various components will be a problem.

After Article 50 is triggered, we enter into a period of negotiation that ends with agreed arrangements for managing the separation together with a framework describing our future relationship with the Union. The negotiation can take up to 2 years throughout which time our membership obligations remain in force. Once the negotiation is complete, the EU will need to obtain the consent of the European Parliament and a qualified majority in the European Council. On the UK side, it's less clear how the decision will be confirmed, but my guess is an Act of Parliament will be needed. It could easily take 4 or 5 years to sort that lot out.

But it's only then that the real work starts. I have no idea how long it will take to replace 45 years worth of legislation and EU aligned practice, or how long it will take the economy to take advantage of the new rules, or how long it will take to conclude new trade deals etc. It's rather likely that the Article 50 negotiation will leave a lot in place, including free movement of people, and that it will take a decade or two to sort out the rest.

Interesting times ahead. I intend to spend more time with my lathe!

Dave

The latest farcical idea that building a production line from ce marked equipment then requires its own ce mark for the whole line might just get dropped…..

Mark

Some standards are still a BS standard like electrical installations e.g. British Standard BS 7671.

Try this concept then – buy a bag filling machine a hopper and a weigh station, all ce approved. join them together in a "production line" and the whole thing then requires approval. Why would I need to approve my own line built from approved equipment?

I understand the idea about components making up a larger bit of kit but this is a production line and for your own use…… you still think it is drivel? Its mad. It is the latest proposals being floated regarding automation etc.

Mark

It's not hard to imagine ways of combining two safe machines to make a dangerous situation. How is the law to know in advance which combinations are safe and which aren't?

Surely your 'simple system' should be simple to self-certify? I would have thought the manufacturers would be able to give you all the required data so you can just add your own risk assessment and top and tail it?

For us to supply product into Europe we will still need to find some way of CE marking a lot of it is done by manufacturers who are allowed to self certify under a scheme run by BSI. It going to take some sorting out.

The systems are all in place already. What has to change?

Neil