At the European Union, weighbridges used on commercial transactions are under the purview of a directive that aims to, above all, protect consumer rights. Today, we make a summary of the law for you to know the rules that your weighbridge should comply with.
The weighbridges that you use to know the weight (and the price) of the goods that go in and/or out of your facilities daily are, accordingly to the legislation, “non automatic weighing instruments” used for the "determination of the mass for commercial transactions”.
Therefore, your weighbridges are framed on a directive from the European Union which forces them to respect several rules – since its manufacture, the distribution to the end of its service life in a business.
As a weighing specialist, Balanças Marques has prepared a summary about the laws that your weighbridge should comply with so that nothing fails with your equipment to weigh-trucks.
• Before arrival to your business
Before even serving the purpose to weigh trucks in your business, the weighbridges have already to respect several rules and be accompanied, obligatorily, with certain information’s and some official documents.
For each weighbridge, the manufacturers of commercial weighing instruments must indicate a batch, a series’ number and/or other identifying elements and deliver the usual technical documentation, as an instruction manual. Besides that, they have the role of:
-issue (or request) a UE statement compliance.
-affix the CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking to your weighing equipment’s.
Throughout the production process of the weighbridge, they also have the obligation to fulfil the requirements set out so that the equipment perform its work with accuracy and reliability.
On the other hand, distributors have the role of:
-ensure that every weighbridge has the required documentation by law (declaration of compliance, CE marking and supplementary metrology marking);
-make sure the weighing equipment’s leave the factory without any apparent risk;
-secure that, while on their responsibility, the storage and transporting conditions are appropriate to keep the good functioning of the weighbridge.
• On duty time in your business
After starting their job on a company, the weighbridges are subject to inspections to ensure that everything is working in compliance with the law.
Therefore, in addition to the required parameters since the beginning (as the CE marking), the weighing instruments should have the legal metrological control on time.
This means, the weighbridges used on commercial transactions must be submitted to the mandatory periodic verification within the time limit laid down in the European Directive. A procedure that is, usually, annual and that has to be carried out by an entity certified by the institution responsible for the matter in the country in question – on Portugal’s case, by the Portuguese Quality Institute (IPQ).
However, on an exception to the rule, the weighbridges are exempted from the periodic verification on the year that the weighbridge receive the compliance UE declaration and also on years that the instrument has undergone some kind of reconstruction, once, on this case, receives a new compliance declaration.
If, for any reason, the mandatory periodic verification carried out by the competent authority reveals more than the “maximum permissible errors” by law, your business has to repair the scale and cannot use it until it is subject to a further verification.
As you can conclude, the weighbridges used on commercial transactions, and elements so essential to your business, are framed on an European directive that requires close attention from the manufacturers, distributors and the own users.
For this reason, whenever you need a weighbridge, choose a trusted brand, as Balanças Marques (modesty aside). And, by the way, you can also do a maintenance contract with us and use the services of our metrology laboratory, CALLMARQUES, so that nothing fails with your weighbridge – be it in your day to day or at the time of inspections and/or periodic verification.
Contact us for more information!
