Certified safety

GS mark

With the “ Geprüfte Sicherheit” (GS mark) seal of approval , a ready-to-use product is certified that it meets the requirements of Section 21 of the Product Safety Act (ProdSG). These requirements are specified in terms of “measure and number”, especially in DIN standards and European standards or other generally recognized rules of technology . The certification, which was introduced on April 1, 1978, is intended to protect the user and third parties from damage to life and limb in the case of intended and foreseeable use (in the non-harmonized area, i.e. without a European specification) and by compliance with the European specifications (in the harmonized area).

The GS mark is still the only legally regulated test mark in Europe for product safety. The CE marking is required for certain products, but is a declaration by the manufacturer or distributor that he complies with all European requirements (directives and / or regulations). All other marks such as ENEC , VDE , ÖVE , TÜV , BG are private marks from individual testing or certification bodies or agreements between test houses.

meaning

The GS test checks whether the product meets the requirements of Section 21 ProdSG with regard to ensuring the protection of the safety and health of people. This includes the requirements of the European directives and / or ordinances that are implemented with the ProdSG and its ordinances (e.g. low-voltage directive or machinery directive). The testing and certification for the GS mark does not include European directives that provide for CE marking but are not geared towards health and safety protection (e.g. EMC directive 2004/108 / EC, ecodesign directive 2009 / 125 / EG, Measuring Devices Directive (2004/22 / EG)). The operating instructions are part of the product, i. H. without an instruction manual the product is incomplete. With the GS mark, functional tests are only part of the scope of testing to the extent that it is necessary for testing safety. The GS mark is therefore not a general quality mark. The quality over the lifetime of a product is not checked. The GS mark means that a test center authorized by the German state has tested the product on the basis of a prototype and is carrying out production monitoring.

As a rule, manufacturers (for a definition, see § 2 No. 14 ProdSG ) use the GS mark for quality assurance reasons as well as for marketing reasons. The buyer thus has a confirmation from an agency independent of the manufacturer that the product is safe within the meaning of the ProdSG. The GS mark can be awarded to ready-to-use products (e.g. machines, hand tools, toys, electrical appliances, lights, household appliances or furniture). Bodies that are allowed to issue a GS mark are named by the central office of the federal states for safety technology .

Comparison with the CE marking

The GS mark and its award requirements are regulated by law, but in contrast to the CE mark, it is voluntary. With the CE mark, the manufacturer confirms that the marked product conforms to the applicable European internal market law . He is therefore also responsible for these products for the supervisory authorities. The manufacturer must affix the "CE" mark. However, this only applies to products or product groups for which there is a corresponding EU legal act (e.g. the low-voltage directive for electrical products in the voltage limits defined there). However, products that are not covered by any such legal act may not bear a CE mark (e.g. ladders and steps). In contrast, the GS mark means product testing and production monitoring by an independent testing and certification body ("GS body").

Legal position

To be eligible the GS mark Install and maintain a product-related certification, product manufacturers must that of an approved testing ( GS body ) of a type test subject. A list of all GS bodies is available from the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health .

To maintain the certificate, the GS body carries out control measures (e.g. monitoring of the production facility). During the control measures, it is checked whether the manufactured product still corresponds to the type tested or whether changes have been made. This mostly annual inspection also includes a review of the quality system and the final product inspection.

In the event of relevant changes to the product, the manufacturer must inform the GS body. Relevant changes are all changes that could affect conformity with the ProdSG and above all mean deviations from the test report prepared by the test center. The GS body must check whether the changes made require a review or, depending on the case, a change in the test report. Depending on the change, the changed product is subjected to another re-examination.

Competitive situation to CE

On February 14, 2007, the EU Commission proposed a legislative package according to which Germany would have to abolish the GS mark. In the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a common legal framework for the marketing of products, Article 16 (2) states:

“The CE mark is the only mark that certifies the conformity of the product with the applicable requirements. With regard to compliance with the provisions on the CE marking in the legal provisions, the member states refrain from including a reference to a conformity marking other than the CE marking in their national regulations, or delete such a reference. "

However, the member states and the European Parliament have not adopted this proposal by the EU Commission. In Article 30 of Regulation (EC) 765/2008 on regulations for accreditation and market surveillance it now states in section 5:

"The affixing of markings, signs or inscriptions, the meaning or shape of which can be confused by third parties with the meaning or shape of the CE marking, is prohibited. Any other marking may be affixed to products as long as it does not impair the visibility, legibility and meaning of the CE marking. "

Since the GS mark has always had a different meaning than the CE mark, it can still be awarded without any changes.

Consideration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)

Since April 1, 2008, a test for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has to be taken into account when awarding the GS mark in accordance with a resolution of the “Committee for Technical Work Equipment and Consumer Products (AtAV)” of November 20, 2007 . According to the specifications of the Central Office of the Federal States for Safety Technology (ZLS), this test must be applied bindingly for products in accordance with the requirements of Section 4.1 of the PAK document ZEK 01-08. This applies to all products that may contain PAHs and should be touched when used as intended. This affects, for example, plastic or rubber handles of tools, household materials and devices that are based on polymers or have been provided with coatings that may contain PAHs. The PAH document ZEK ( Z entraler E rfahrungsaustausch k reis) AFPs GS 2014: 01 PAK "testing and evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), in the recognition of the GS mark" placed first sure that all of these testing laboratories responsible for carrying a uniform Use the test method to determine the PAH content. These requirements were reviewed and revised on May 15, 2019, the GS specification AfPS GS 2014: 01 PAK was replaced by the GS specification AfPS GS 2019: 01 PAK.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ "Now GS safety mark". In: Pforzheimer Zeitung of April 13, 1978, p. 1

↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ GS specification testing and evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) for the award of the GS mark

[1] "Now GS safety mark". In: Pforzheimer Zeitung of April 13, 1978, p. 1