First thing first:
NL EN 81-50 is the applicable standard for the type examination certificates.
What is a type examination certificate?
NL EN 81-50 defines it as follows:
(The) type examination certificate (is) a document issued by an approved body carrying out a type-examination in which it certifies that the product example under consideration complies with the provisions applicable to it.
clause 3.3 of NL EN 81-50:2016
Our second question would be:
what or who are the approved bodies?
Also, NL EN 81-50 gives the answer as follows:
Approved body (is an) organization or manufacturer, operating an approved full quality assurance system to undertake testing of safety components.
clause 3.1 of NL EN 81-50:2016
Additionally, NL EN 81-50 has elaborated the process for the type examinations of safety components. In the process, it has assumed the role of the approved bodies as follow:
for the purposes of this standard (NL EN 81-50:2016), it is assumed that the laboratory undertakes both the testing and the certification as an approved body. An approved body may be that of a manufacturer operating an approved full quality assurance system. In certain cases, the test laboratory and the body approved for the issue of type examination certificates may be separate. In these cases, the administrative procedures may differ from those described in this standard.
clause 5.1.2.1 of NL EN 81-50:2016
In other word, the approved body could be either:
As a main example applicable in Europe is the CE marking. The CE marking is mandatory in Europe, and widely recognized in the majority of the countries applying the EN 81 series of standards.
CE marking of safety components is the subject of the next section of this training.
The object and extent of the type examination tests are elaborated in NL EN 81-50:2016 as follow:
The safety component/device is submitted to a test procedure to verify that insofar as construction and operation are concerned, it conforms to the requirements imposed by this standard (NL EN 81-50:2016). It shall be checked in particular that the mechanical, electrical and electronic components of the device are properly rated and that in the course of time the device does not lose its effectiveness, particularly through wear or aging. If the safety component is needed to satisfy particular requirements (waterproof, dust proof or explosion proof construction), supplementary examinations and/or tests under appropriate criteria shall be made.
clause 5.1.1 of NL EN 81-50
Such tests are destructive tests and they cannot be performed on components intended to be used on lifts. Those tests will be performed on sample of components. The process of testing is not a part of the present course.
The standard NL EN 81-50 has determined the contents of every certificate. Obviously, the certificate contents differ from safety component to another type of safety components; the contents of every type examination certificate are elaborated in lessons 1.2 to 1.9 of the current training course.
Nevertheless, some contents are typical for all examination certificates regardless of the components. Annex A of NL EN 81-50:2016 is a model form of type examination certificate. Here below is an extract of the form:
What are the components that should be subject to type-examination; I mean provided with type examination certificates?
NL EN 81-50:2016 indicates the following components as requiring type test certificates:
In the following lessons of the current section (section 1) of this training course, we will elaborate the requirements for every type of safety components according to the above order.