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New edition of the guidelines for the pressure equipment directive available

Guide for a coherent application of the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU (PED)

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Abbildung eines Pfeils zur Illustration von Leitfäden zu EU-Vorschriften

The European Commission published a new edition of the guidelines for the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 2014/68/EU in 2024.

The aim of the guidelines is to ensure a coherent application of the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU. These guidelines, as well as the guides to other EU directives (Machinery Directive, ATEX Directive, etc.), play an important role in the interpretation of the legal requirements and are valuable sources of knowledge in practice for all persons who work with the respective directives and regulations. However, in contrast to the underlying EU directives and regulations, these guides do not have the character of law!

For more information, see the technical article on the legal significance of guides (in German) technical article on the topic “legal significance of guides” (using the example of the EU's cross-product Blue Guide).

Amendments to the Pressure Equipment Guidelines in comparison to the 2021 edition

The new edition of the PED Guidelines contains numerous editorial adjustments to the existing guidelines – for example, all guidelines in the new edition have been converted into a uniform tabular format and individual errors have been corrected. In addition, a total of 24 new guidelines with different questions and the corresponding answers from the commission on selected sections of the PED have been added. These newly added contents can be found in the table below. You can read the answer in detail in the full-text PDF of the guide, which can be found at the end of the table.

New section	Title/Question
A-44 on Article 4 Paragraph 1 a	Is breathing apparatus, such as SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus, generally composed of a bottle, a regulator, a flexible hose and mouth or face piece) in the scope of the PED?
A-55 on Article 1 Paragraph 2 f) and j ), Article 2(3	Is turbine piping covered by the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED)?
B-33 on Article 2(4), Annex II	When a safety accessory consists of a safety chain which itself includes “items of pressure equipment” (for example a valve or a cylinder), in which category shall these "items of pressure equipment” be classified?
B-41 on Article 13	Where to find additional information on classification of fluids based on PED Article 13 as of 1 June 2015?
C-14 on Article 2 Section 6, Article 4 Paragraph 2, Annex II Table 4	Assuming that the manufacturer wants to use Module B EU-Type examination – design type in accordance with annex II, table 4, is it then sufficient that the manufacturer of the boiler gets an EU-Type examination – design type certificate or shall it be the installer (plumber), who assembles the protective devices to the boiler on site that must obtain the EU-Type examination – design type certificate?
D-17 on Article 19, Section 4, Annex III, Section 4	In the case that serially produced pressure equipment is assessed in accordance with module B (production type) + C2: shall the manufacturer affix the notified body’s identification number to all pressure equipment even though the notified body has tested only a sample of the production?
E-04 on Article 14, paragraph 6 c)	Shall fire extinguishers be equipped with protective devices against over-pressure ?
E-09 on Annex I no. 2.11.2	Is there a value defined for the acceptable limit of the short duration referred to in Annex I Section 2.11.2?
E-10 on Annex I no. 2.2.1 last indent	The last indent of section 2.2.1 of Annex I states that the decomposition of unstable fluids shall be taken into account for the loadings to be considered for the design of pressure equipment. Is this aiming at the explosive decomposition of unstable fluids?
F-10 on Annex I, section 3.1.2	If a manufacturer has a procedure for permanent joining approved by a notified body or other recognized third-party organization at one site (location), may that manufacturer use the same procedure at other sites for similar applications?
F-12 on Annex I No. 3.1.2	In the context of approval of welding procedures and personnel, what is meant by “the third party must perform examinations and tests as set out in the appropriate harmonized standards or equivalent examinations and tests”?
F-16 on Annex I No. 3.1.2 and 3.2.2	Do the essential safety requirements apply to temporary components used by the equipment manufacturer either during the manufacturing or for the proof test of a pressure equipment?
F-17 on Annex I no. 3.2.2	Is the manufacturer allowed to replace non permanent joining components (bolts, studs, nuts, washers, gaskets) at the end of the proof test without carrying out a new proof test?
F-19 on Annex I Section 3.1.2	Annex I chapter 3.1.2 states that the properties of welded joints shall meet the minimum properties specified for the materials to be joined unless other relevant property values are specifically taken into account by the design process. Do these requirements apply also for impact property values?
G-28 on Annex I No. 7.5	How to apply Annex I, section 7.5 on the bending rupture energy measured on an ISO V test piece for base materials whose, due to its thickness, the collection of a test piece of section 10 mm x 10 mm is not possible?
G-29 on Annex I No. 3.2.1 and 4.3	Based on data contained in a certificate issued by a material manufacturer (EN 10204:2004 3.1-certificate) material has been supplied in accordance with a material specification. May a pressure equipment manufacturer perform additional mechanical or non-destructive testing or have them performed to affirm that the material meets all the requirements specified by the equipment manufacturer?
G-30 on Annex I No. 4.3	A manufacturer produces material only to a chemical analysis without mechanical testing and without affirmation of compliance to a material specification and/or grade. An entity intends to purchase the material and affirm compliance to a material specification by performing the mechanical tests as required by that material specification. There will be no further processing, other than cutting to size. Is this procedure acceptable and may this material be used in pressure equipment under the PED?
H-03 on Annex I, sections 3.3 and 3.4	What safety information must be given to the user in relation to Annex I points 3.3 and 3.4?
H-12 on Annex I No. 3.3	Which are the essential maximum/minimum allowable limits to be marked according to Annex I section 3.3 (a) of Pressure Equipment Directive (PED)?
H-16 on Annex I No. 3.2.2 and 7 .4	If the hydrostatic pressure test required by Annex I section 3.2.2 is replaced by a pneumatic pressure test because filling with water is harmful or impractical, what value has to be used for the pressure test?
H-18 on Annex I No. 3.	What shall be the information about pressure and temperature to be marked on bottles for breathing apparatus according to PED?
I-14 on Article 16 Paragraph 1, Annex I No. 4.2 c)	May the specific assessment (referred in the Annex I section 4.2 c) be carried out by a user inspectorate as part of the conformity assessment of pressure equipment based on modules A2, C2, F or G ?
J-08 on Annex IV	What is the information to be given in the EU Declaration of Conformity of assemblies in order to comply with the third indent of section 4 of Annex IV?
J-09 on article 2, Annex I no. 4.3	How can terms in the PED such as main pressure-bearing parts be understood in practice?

Tips for Safexpert users

With the help of the Safexpert document comparison, you can conveniently open the old and new editions of the guidelines in StandardsManager as an interactive correspondence table, filter for changed sections and display the sections in full text directly next to each other.
The new guidelines for the PED are also available as technical literature in the Safexpert Knowledge Base! This means that while you are studying a paragraph of the Pressure Equipment Directive, the corresponding sections of the guidelines are displayed on the right-hand side of the page.

Download the guidelines

The English language version of the current PED Guidelines can be found via the following link:

Guidelines on the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU

Product note

Safexpert 9.1 - The CE software already supports the new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/123030

Recording of a designer with various Safexpert modules

Since version 9.1, Safexpert has been providing you with targeted support when switching to the new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230. For machines with a long service life that are placed on the market from 20 January 2027, you can now use the CE guide in accordance with the new Machinery Regulation!

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Posted on: 2025-01-09

Author

Mitarbeiter im Bereich Community- und Datenmanagement bei der IBF GmbH

Daniel Zacek-Gebele, MSc
Produktmanager bei IBF für Zusatzprodukte sowie Datenmanager für die Aktualisierung der Normendaten am Safexpert Live Server. Studium der Wirtschaftswissenschaften in Passau (BSc) und Stuttgart (MSc) im Schwerpunkt International Business and Economics.

E-Mail: daniel.zacek-gebele@ibf-solutions.com | www.ibf-solutions.com

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