Ten Years History of International Certification

By Mike Swan, ASTA, Secretary to LOVAG from 1991 to 2001, published in July 2001

Summary: Background and steps for setting up of LOVAG are presented. An important support was given by the manufacturer‘s trade organisation in some European countries. Today LOVAG is supported by nine recognized European certification bodies and it offers a competent certification scheme for low voltage industrial and similar equipment based on harmonized test instructions and test reports for IEC- and EN- standards. The uniform LOVAG Certificates are recognized in the European market and to an increasing degree in the international market.

In 1989 there were in existence in Europe two mutual recognition agreements (MRA´s), the CENELEC Certification Agreement (CCA) and the Short-circuit Testing Liaison (STL) which created the STL Agreement. The CCA was an agreement with a scope covering the domestic electrical equipment sectors and the STLA covered the high voltage (above 1000V) electrical equipment sectors. It was realised that there was no agreement for the low voltage industrial electrical equipment sectors which form a major part of the electrotechnical equipment manufacturing in Europe.

ASTA Certification Services in the United Kingdom made approaches to similar certification bodies as themselves in Europe proposing that discussions should be held to see if there was a need for an agreement in this sector. A number of European certification bodies were approached and in late 1989 a meeting between ASTA Certification Services and the Association De Stations D´Essais Francaises D´Appareils Electriques (ASEFA) was held in Paris between Mr Jean-Paul Francillon and Mr Edmond Beau of ASEFA and Eur Ing Michael Swan of ASTA. From this meeting an Agreement Group of low voltage industrial equipment was begun.

It had been agreed there was a need to make approaches to the manufacturers´ trade associations in Europe as there were some European countries that did not appear to have certification bodies providing certification in this sector. Letters were sent to known manufacturers´ trade associations in the European Countries and also to European Trade Associations such as ORGALIME and UNICE. From these letters interest was expressed by the German manufacturers´ trade association ZVEI and the Italian trade association ANIE and from these two new certification bodies were formed to represent the testing interests in those countries, ALPHA in Germany and ACAE in Italy.

Meetings to discuss the way forward began immediately in early 1990 between the four certification bodies and Mr Gustav Rode of ALPHA and Dr Alberto Scarpa of ACAE joined in the discussions. The Chairman of LOVAG in these early years was Mr Jean-Paul Francillon.

Contact was made with CENELEC in 1990 and they supported the setting up and signing of the Agreement. In 1991 the Agreement was finalised and a formal signing ceremony was held in CENELEC offices where the Agreement was signed by the four members, Associazione per la Certificazione delle Apparecchiature Elettriche (ACAE) from Italy, Gesellschaft zur Prüfung und Zertifizierung von Niederspannungsgeräten e.V (ALPHA) from Germany, Association De Stations D´Essais Francaises D´Appareils Electriques (ASEFA) from France and ASTA Certification Services (ASTA) from the United Kingdom. In 1992 KEMA Quality formerly (KEMA Certification Services; KCS) from the Netherlands signed the Agreement and in the same year LOVAG was registered by the newly formed European Organisations for Testing and Certification (EOTC).

In 1993 two further certification bodies, CEBEC from Belgium and SEMKO AB from Sweden signed the LOVAG Agreement closely followed by the Centro Elettrotecnico Sperimentale Italiano Giacinto Motta S.p.A. (CESI) from Italy in 1994. Mr Brian Wood also took over chairmanship of LOVAG in 1994, a position he held until 2000, and under his guidance the Agreement gained status in Europe. Finally in 1998 SGS FIMKO (former FIMKO Limited) from Finland signed the Agreement making the total membership of LOVAG nine in its tenth year.

The year 2001 sees the LOVAG Agreement Group still with nine member certification bodies from eight different European countries. It produces common application notes for standards, for low voltage industrial and similar equipment (including commercial and public buildings equipment) falling within the scope of LOVAG and these are published as LOVAG Test Instructions. It also produces Certificates and Test Report Forms in common formats for use with the scheme. LOVAG certificates in their common format are increasingly recognised in the market and accepted in the European Economic Area and elsewhere in the world.

LOVAG has issued over 1000 certificates for low voltage industrial and similar equipment (including commercial and public buildings equipment) within the scope of the Agreement.

On the basis of the LOVAG certification scheme of today with its high competence for low voltage equipment, and the gained high integrity and quality supported by well known certification bodies in Europe and proved by more than 1000 LOVAG Certificates the future objectives of LOVAG are a world wide activity of the LOVAG MRA and a world wide acceptance of LOVAG Certificates. LOVAG would welcome new members to support these objectives.