What Is CE Marking?

The CE Mark is a mandatory European marking for certain product groups to indicate conformity with the essential heath and safety requirements set out in European Directives. The letters ‘CE’ are an abbreviation of Conformity Europeans, French for European conformity. The CE Marking of products as “passport” which can allow a Manufacturer to freely circulate their products within the European market place.
The CE Mark declares that your product complies with the Essential Requirements of the applicable EU Directives.

CE Marking

Applicable requirements are set forth in various European Directives that replace individual country safety standards. The Directives apply to products manufactured within but also exported to the European Union.
The CE Mark is placed on a product as the manufacturer’s visual identifier that the product meets the requirements of relevant European Directives. It is mandatory for a wide range of products sold within or exported to the European market.
To facilitate free trade and ensure the safety of certain products, European countries have developed a series of standards, or Directives as they are called. Compliance is mandatory. It is a legal obligation on the part of the manufacturer or his agent. Penalties for failing to get CE-Marking for a product can be severe.
If you wish to sell your products within the European Union member states and the European Economic Area, the product in question must comply with the Directive(s). This also applies if you are a manufacturer who wants to export products into the European Member countries.
The Directives replace individual country standards as they relate principally to the safety of these products.

What products do the Directives cover?
The Directives apply to a wide range of products. The most notable products that likely need CE-marking are:

    * pressure equipment
    * machinery of almost any description
    * electrical and electronic equipment
    * medical devices and equipment
    * personal protective equipment
    * equipment for use in potentially explosive environments

There are certain exclusions, but if you manufacture any of the above types of equipment or products then one or more of the Directives almost certainly apply.


EU Directives
Directives apply to 99% of all industrial and domestic products sold in Europe; it is the distinctive CE mark that signifies compliance with the applicable Directives. Without the CE mark and the correct documentation, manufacturers and importers are at an immediate disadvantage when competing against compliant competitors.

Complying with Directives
The requirements of the Directives are to ensure that manufacturers have identified and addressed all aspects of design and manufacturing that could impact safety and the safe operations of the equipment.

The actions required to become compliant with the Directives vary according to which Directive(s) apply and the type or classification of the equipment as defined by the Directive(s). However, there are some general steps you should follow:

   1. Determine which, if any, EU Directives apply to your product(s),
   2. Determine the extent to which your product already complies with the essential requirements of the Directives.
   3. Choose conformity assessment routes. Depending on the nature of the equipment or product, you may be able to implement and declare compliance and affix the CE mark without assistance or service from an external company.

A Notified Body is an independent body appointed by an agency within one of the European countries, usually governmental, as being capable of performing the duties of a Notified Body as defined by the Directives.


Source:  ISOQualityKit.com

How To Addressing Translation Quality

At this point you must be asking yourself that what about translation quality? Most critics of ISO 9001: 2000 certification within the language industry will generally respond, ISO does nothing for translation quality. The fact of the matter is that ISO 9001:2000 was never designed to ensure an objective level of quality in a specific deliverable be it a machine tool, an automobile, or a translated document. The standard has neither the ability, nor the intention to define quality in this way; rather it is a statement of organizational and managerial integrity; the focus of which is to deliver quality products and services according to the customer’s requirements.

Since language services are not required by all businesses in order for them to perform in their local markets, they are not perceived as vital services by most business owners. Financial services, insurance, office equipment and furniture, marketing, and advertising are usually considered vital to all businesses. As a service used only by companies either engaging in international sales or actively marketing to ethnic markets domestically, language service providers are not as well known in the U.S domestic market. Due to this fact and the increasingly technical nature of translation and localization work, there is a growing asymmetry in knowledge between LSP’s and their existing and potential customers. This disconnect between service buyers and sellers is strong justification for LSP’s to attain certification. Since, to this day, there is no single standard that addresses translation quality, ISO 9000 certification serves as the best alternative 5.



Of course, if you look at the results of a translation project, you can assess if the work looks complete, professional, and was delivered on time. However, you still have no way of assessing the linguistic quality of the work. To do so, you will need to rely on someone in your organization such as an overseas sales office, distributor or even your customers. This process, known as client review, is common and necessary, since most buyers of translation services are not comfortable assuming that their LSP can provide quality work.

However, anyone working inside an LSP will tell you that even if the distributor/customer does not provide positive feedback, it does not necessarily mean that the translation is of poor quality. Why? Well, its language is always preferential and subjective. There is no way to objectively measure the quality of translation in its abstract meaning. Even if there was, the reviewers would have to be trained in that assessment process, which likely will not happen, since review at best will be a secondary task for the chosen reviewer. He or she will likely have primary duties that generate revenue directly for your company. So, that brings us back to the definition of quality as perceived by the buyer. That’s where the integrity comes in: being able to work with the buyer to establish those ever-elusive quality criteria as the basis for reasonable and realistic quality requirements. Such collaboration takes time and effort on both sides, but mainly on the provider’s side. This type of partnership is impossible without commitment and integrity and requires robust and detailed processes for which ISO ce certification can provide a solid framework.

From the buyer’s perspective purchasing language services is a daunting task. Unless you have knowledge of the languages into which your service provider is translating, you do not have any direct way of assessing the quality of the translation work. If you think about it, virtually any other product or service you and your company purchase can be evaluated and experienced directly. Purchasing technical services, such as software development,- lends itself to direct assessment, even if you have no knowledge of programming, since the end result can be assessed for functional quality.



Source: translationdirectory.com/articles

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