ProdSG 2021 – new product safety law

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ProdSG 2021 – Chain reaction for mechanical engineering?

2021/08/02 Update on the ProdSG 2021: The Act on the Adaptation of the Product Safety Act and the Reorganization of the Law on Installations Requiring Surveillance of July 27, 2021 was promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette on July 30, 2021.

2021/03/18 The ProdSG 2021 comes into force on July 16, 2021. The law on making products available on the market (Product Safety Act – ProdSG) has been revised.

New in ProdSG 2021

In the future, the ProdSG will only centrally cover requirements for making products available on the market in terms of product safety, addressed for example to manufacturers and importers. The regulations on the safety of systems in operation, previously the 9th section of the ProdSG, will be hived off – into the Act on Systems Requiring Inspection (ÜAnlG), with the operator as the addressee.

The provisions on the GS mark have been revised and concretized in the new ProdSG, based on practical experience.

A new feature is the possibility of marketing bans. This has long been common practice in Austria, for example, but in future the federal government in Germany will also be able to ban or restrict high-risk products throughout the country by means of a statutory order.

Regulations for market surveillance when products are placed on the market are almost completely eliminated – with the exception of a few ProdSG-specific regulations (for example, random sampling). The previous sections on market surveillance and information and notification requirements are almost completely transferred to the new Market Surveillance Act (MÜG).

Chain reaction for mechanical and plant engineering?

Manufacturers, importers, etc. will have to adapt their technical documentation to the new ProdSG. But are further measures also required?

Numerous regulations refer to the ProdSG. Changes are therefore necessary, for example, in the Equipment and Machinery Noise Protection Ordinance, the Ordinance on Electrical Equipment, the Ordinance on Simple Pressure Vessels, the Machinery Ordinance, the Explosion Protection Products Ordinance, the Elevator Ordinance, Pressure Equipment Ordinance. According to the Adaptation Act (see below), adjustments made are mostly purely editorial or necessary because regulations on market surveillance from the ProdSG have been incorporated into the MÜG. The same applies to the requirements for the operation of systems requiring monitoring from Section 9 of the existing ProdSG. These are to be editorially new, but unchanged in content in the Act on Systems Requiring Monitoring ÜAnlG.

This also applies to the specific requirements of the BetrSichV for the operation of systems requiring monitoring (in future in the ÜAnlG), which were previously related to the ProdSG. The BetrSichV will be adapted to the change in regulations from the ProdSG to the ÜAnlG.

Conclusion according to the legislator: The changes in the ProdSG 2021 do not cause any effort for the economy. This is explained by the German government in the draft law on the adaptation of the Product Safety Act and the reorganization of the law on installations requiring monitoring dated February 10, 2021.

Voltage guaranteed

In the future, no longer in the ProdSG: The enumeration of systems requiring monitoring. This will also not be included in the ÜAnlG. In the future, the German government is to define a catalog of systems requiring monitoring by ordinance – on the basis of the ÜAnlG. Not only the Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. (BDI) is wondering, according to its statement of 2020/09/24, whether additional plants will soon be defined as requiring monitoring at the ordinance level – and this could possibly mean a significant additional expense for companies.

The fulfillment service provider as an economic actor, which is now explicitly mentioned in the ProdSG, is also likely to come more into focus.

Our engineers and experts for CE and machine safety are already checking to see if there are any hidden changes that still require measures for companies – so that we can advise our partners and customers in a legally secure manner in any case.

Necessary revision of the ProdSG 2021

The new version of the ProdSG is necessary because regulations in Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and the conformity of products, valid from July 16, 2021, compete with the current ProdSG. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 is implemented through the Market Surveillance Act (MÜG), with market surveillance regulations that overlap with the current ProdSG.

In addition to necessary adaptations due to EU law, the legislator has made further adjustments, for example transfers from the ProdSG to an independent law for safety of installations in operation (ÜAnlG).

Aim and purpose of the ProdSG 2021

According to the legislator, the new version of the ProdSG is intended to achieve a uniform nationwide regulation of product safety law on the requirements for making products available on the market. In this way, the new ProdSG is intended to prevent disadvantages for German economic operators, consumers and employees.

Outlook

In addition to the effects of the new ProdSG, our team is also keeping an eye on the new law for the safety of systems in operation (ÜAnlG). Please feel free to ask us if you would like to know whether there is a need for action in your company or for the distribution of your products.