This page contain information copyrighted by other individuals and entities. Copyrighted material displayed in this page is done so for archival purposes only and is not intended to infringe upon the ownership rights of the original owners.
ABS Type Approval Program - Head Office - United States of America - Houston TX (ID: 14933)
Page 1 of 1 [Back to companies list]
In the voluntary Type Approval Program, ABS certifies that enrolled manufacturers around the world are capable of consistently producing a product in compliance with product specifications. Each product is tested extensively to verify that it will perform reliably in the marine and offshore environment. Learn more about the Type Approval Process Download the Type Approval application form Click here to view a sample company listing EU Marine Equipment Directive Search the ABS Type Approval database To discuss the program with an ABS Engineer, please contact the ABS location nearest you: Select Location Busan, Korea Genoa, Italy Hamburg, Germany Houston, TX, USA London, UK New Orleans, LA, USA Piraeus, Greece Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Shanghai, China, PRC Singapore, ROS Taipei, Taiwan, ROC Washington, DC, USA Yokohama, Japan Type approved products are organized into product groups that are listed on the Contents page Search Results Please click on the highlighted text below for more details. Product Search -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company Information Additional Company/Plant Detail Category Type Approval Certificate No. Issue Date Expiry Date -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Sample Company Company address1 Company address1 Sample City Sample State Postal Code United States of America Tel Company Telephone# Fax Company Fax# RQS 02-QA99999-X 02/Jan/2000 02/Jan/2005 E-mail type_approval@eagle.org Website www.eagle.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Click here to view more details Product Sample Product Model Working with ABS Intended Service This section will define the Intended application of the product as requested by the manufacturer or designer and evaluated by ABS. Description This Section will describe the model as provided by the manufacturer or designer. Ratings This section will list the applicable ratings as requested by the manufacturer or designer and evaluated by ABS. Service Restrictions This section will have a statement advising if unit certification is, or is not required for the product in question. Unit certification is defined as "Where required by the Rules; after assembled to a complete assembly unit or subassembly unit, each production unit of equipment, used in the classification of a vessel, is to be tested at the manufacturer's shop in the presence of the Surveyor to verify the tests required by the Rules were satisfactorily completed." In addition to requirements for unit certification, any service restriction deemed applicable will also be listed here. As an example, service restrictions may define that the product may not be used in certain piping systems. Comments Please see the attachment. This section will be used to make comments about the product that will define the intended use of the product. Notes and Documentation This section will be used to list laboratory reports or other documents that qualify the pedigree of the product. Term of Validity This product/model is covered under Product Design Assessment (PDA) Certificate # RJV12092003, dated 12/Sep/2003. This PDA Certificate expires Sep of 2008. It will remain valid for the 5 years from date of issue or until the Rules or specifications used in the assessment are revised (whichever occurs first). ABS Rules ABS is unique in that we require compliance with any applicable Rules for the product first. Then we will also evaluate the product against other recognized standards requested by the applicant. By doing this, the product is identified as being suitable for use on an ABS Classed vessel or facility (subject to an National Standards Applicable national standard. International Standards These standards would include those contained in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements such as SOLAS and MARPOL. Other International standards such as ISO, IEEE, API etc. may also be used in the evaluations. Government Standards Compliance to any Government Authority requirements EUMED Standards ABS is Notified Body number 0729 and is authorized to conduct evaluations and certifications to the requirements of the Marine Equipment Directive. In addition to the Product Design Assessment this certificate represents, ABS will also list the modules that the product complies with. Other Standards Compliance to any other Rules/Guides/Codes Model Certificate Model Certificate No Issue Date Expiry Date PDA RJV12092003 12/SEP/2003 11/SEP/2008 Type Approval Category AQS, means the manufacturer has an acceptable quality system RQS, means the manufacturer has a certified quality system PQA, means the manufacturer is authorized for self inspection PDA, means Product Design Assessment. This means the product may be used without further technical evaluation DRL, means design review letter, these products may not comply with the most recent Rules MCA, means approval to the UK MED, means approval to the Marine Equipment Directive ABS Type Approval requires a combination of PDA + AQS, or PQA + RQS, or PDA + PQA ABS Type Approval still requires Surveyor attendance for Unit Certification ABS Type Approval Program EU Marine Equipment Directive Introduction Implementation Enforcement Scope of the M E Directive Amendments to Annex A1 & A2 United Kingdom Legislation Assistance from ABS Contact Offices Introduction The European Commission, with the view to harmonize standards for the design, construction and acceptance procedure for the items of equipment referred to in SOLAS and MARPOL, has developed with the help of the industry and the member states, the Marine Equipment Directive (MED). This directive was ratified on 30th June 1998 and comes into force 1st January 1999. All member states, by law, are required to adopt this directive within their own legislation and provide within their country means to enforce the directive after 1st January 1999. ABS, through its European Division, has been involved, from the outset, in the development of the MED as one of the industry members in the working group meetings at the European Commission in Brussels. (back to top) Implementation In accordance with Article 4, of the MED, the member states will either authorize organizations, which satisfy the requirements of Annex C of the MED, as a "Notified Body" or undertake this role by themselves for approvals and acceptance procedures in their country. United Kingdom, one of the member state has given the responsibility of enforcing this Directive within UK to their Department of Transport, Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). MCA will therefore delegate Type Approval of equipment under the MED to the Notified Bodies within the UK. (back to top) ABS - Recognized as "Notified Body" ABS is now recognized as a "Notified Body" by the UK, MCA , for the MED. ABS NB identification number is 0729. In accordance with this authorization ABS will Type Approve equipment under the MED and issue a EC Type-Examination certificate to the manufacturer for product approval as well as allow manufacturer to stamp the product with the CE mark of approval, the ships steering wheel in accordance with Annex B of the ME Directive. (back to top) Enforcement Under the procedures defined in the MED, once an approval has been obtained for the equipment referred to in the Directive by a single "Notified Body", this approval will be acceptable in all other member states. Recognition that the equipment fully complies with the requirements of the MED will be denoted by a "Ships Steering Wheel". (back to top) Scope of the M E Directive The equipment within the scope of this directive delegated to ABS is life saving and fire fighting equipment referred to in SOLAS and marine pollution equipment contained in MARPOL requiring approvals by the "Administration". The items within the scope of the MED are listed in Annex (A1) and Annex (A2) of the Directive. The items of equipment in Annex (A1) are those which have established test standards (IMO Resolutions) and can therefore be tested and approved, whereas for Annex (A2) equipment there are no clearly defined test standards. Therefore Annex (A2) equipment is subject to approvals in accordance with each of the member state requirements. It is envisaged that eventually all items of equipment in Annex (A2) will be transferred to Annex (A) after establishing harmonized standards either through IMO or ISO. (back to top) Amendments to Annex A1 & A2 Annex A1 & A2 has been amended by EC Directive 96/98/EC of 11 November 1998 came into force April 1999. However since there are no amendments to the main body of the Directive, the enforcement date for EC Directive 98/85/EC and the associated Annex s remains 1st January 1999. ABS will Type Approve products as per the EC Directive 98/85/EC and EC Directive 96/98/EC and issue a EC Type-examination certificate. This procedure for approval and issuance of certificate is applicable to all Notified Bodies in all member states. (back to top) United Kingdom Legislation United Kingdom has adopted this Directive into their legislation by issuing a Statutory Instrument "Merchant Shipping Equipment regulation, SI 1999-No1957 and an M Notice No: 1734/35, published 5th Aug 1999 and 10th Aug 1999 respectively. (back to top) Assistance from ABS In view of the involvement of ABS staff in the development of this directive a considerable amount of knowledge exists relating to the design approval and testing of each product listed. Therefore, we will be happy to assist the manufacturers of equipment under the MED across the globe in providing them with all the assistance they may require through ABS local and regional offices world wide in the implementation of the requirements listed in the MED for each specific product. (back to top) Contact Offices Should you require further information regarding any of the subject matter please contact your local ABS office or the ABS London office at the following address: Type Approval Process When considering ABS Type Approval, you need to think in Terms of the Type Approval Program and a Type Approved Product. The program is the all encompassing process of evaluations, audits and maintenance of the data base. A Type Approved Product has satisfied the processes of: An Engineer's evaluation of a design to determine conformance with specifications. The manufacturer should submit sufficient information to allow ABS to determine if the product meets specification. This results in a Product Design Assessment Certificate (PDA). Witnessing manufacture and testing of a type of the product to determine compliance with the specification A Surveyor's evaluation of the manufacturing arrangements to confirm that the product can be consistently produced in accordance with the specification. This results in the issue of a Manufacturing Assessment Certificate. > View a slide presentation on the ABS Type Approval Program Basically a PDA is the pre-approval of a product for use on a variety of ABS class ships. The PDA reduces the turn around time for approval on a specific ship. When a specific ship is chosen, the technical staff would then verify that the product, as already approved, is suitable for the intended use. This can be done with a simple review of the PDA and not require submittal of further documentation from the manufacturer. In the situation of a product that does not require Unit Certification ; the manufacturer may be served by having a PDA only. Any manufacturer may apply for a Type Approved Product. However, a Type Approved Product is of more benefit to the manufacturer when there is a requirement for Unit Certification and a Surveyor attendance for material testing and other tests during manufacturer. Being a Type Approved Product, expedites the "Unit Certification" process. View Type Approval Process Flow Diagram -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Procedure and application for becoming Type Approved Step 1: Application Submittal Package Includes Completed Application Application (PDF format) FEE SCHEDULE Three copies of applicable drawings, datasheets, test results, etc. Sufficient data to verify compliance with stated standards. Must be specific to the intended services stated on the application. Standards for Approval ABS Rules & Guides U.S. National and Foreign National U.S. Federal Foreign Federal (Administrative) International (IMO) Safety (SOLAS) Manufacturer's standards Step 2: Evaluation and Assessment Design Evaluation Prototype Test Management Assessment Performed by local ABS Surveyor Standardized checklists for surveyor guidance Requirements not applicable for all clients Emphasis on quality control Based on ISO-9000 standard Production Assessment Performed by local ABS Surveyor Surveyor uses standardized check-sheets for guidance. Production surveillance will be conducted on an annual basis Step 3: Type Approval Certification Issuance of Certificate ABS Port Office issues a 5 year Manufacturing Assessment Certificate to the Manufacturer Product is included in ABS List of Type Approved Equipment, and ABS Web site. Manufacturer may market product as ABS Type Approved Equipment Certification of Type Approval may then be printed from the web site. Maintenance of ABS Type Approval Annual Plant Surveillance Products may be added to listing with interim plant surveys New products or changes to existing products may necessitate additional design review. ABS Quality Assurance Program ABS Quality Assurance Program Each product is tested extensively to verify that it will perform reliably in the marine and offshore environment. ABS Type Approval Program - Head Office - United States of America - Houston TX