The European union approved the (EU) PPE 2016/425 regulation. This regulation applies to PPE (Personnal Protective Equipment). It lays down the conditions governing its placing on the market and free movement within the community and the basic safety requirements which PPE must satisfy in order to ensure the health protection and safety of users.
Personnal protective equipments covered by this directive are divided into 3 categories : “Simple” design, “Intermediate” design, “Complex” design. In order to cover these categories, the same ranking is used for personnal protective equipments (PPE).
Category I : Simple protection, PPE for minor risks. CE Auto-certification.
Category II : PPE aimed at protecting against non-lethal dangers but potentially serious risks. CE certification is made by an authorized organism.
Category III : PPE for protection against lethal dangers or serious and irreversible injuries. CE certification is made by an authorized organism and a production audit based on quality insurance.