The importance of a well functioning Market Control is paid more and more attention in Europe.

Still there are machines marketed and delivered without the required CE-marking (including the corresponding demands on technical execution and documentation), and there are even CE-marked machines and systems, where already a brief inspection shows that it is quite clear that the product execution does not fulfill the safety demands of the Machinery Directive and individual Standards.

Thereby the users are exposed to risks which they are not aware of, especially if they in good belief have bought a product, which on false grounds is CE-marked.  

From competition point of view these unmarked or incorrectly CE-marked machines create  distortion in competitiveness  in relation to those companies who fully complies to the rules, as safety arrangements, safe clearances, sufficient dimensioning and an extensive documentation means cost increases for the products.

The Market Control shall be handled by the ”market”, i.e. by customers, competitors and the authorities.

”The authorities” are the governmental organizations for the work environment in each country, such as the Berufsgenossenschaft in Germany, the Health and Safety Executive in Great Britain and Arbetsmiljöverket in Sweden. They have the power and means to demand that existing products must be corrected or completed, that they can be drawn back from the market or that the marketing is completely ceased.

The Works Inspection can report about the irregularities they detect at their inspections, and the "Notified Bodies" who make inspections can act against the suppliers of incorrect equipments.

In practice the "Authorities" only take actions when they have got a notification from the buyers or the competitors, and the investigation made by the Authorities is only made for the individual case. i.e. not for e.g. all the distribution channels for the equipment or for all sizes of products based on the same design concept.

The Market Control is thus in reality in the hands of those companies who market correct products. A notification to the authorities can however be a little delicate, as you can expect that the accused company tries to "pay back" later.

It can thus be suitable to let a separate, neutral, company, make the notification, when you after careful studies find that such action is the right way to solve the problem.

Another, even more important reason to engage a separate company for executing the Market Control is that you then do not need to dispose your company's resources for the analyzing work and for correspondence with the accused company and the authorities. You can also get a neutral evaluation about the technical execution, and whether the equipment complies with the demands.

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