Weighing Equipment (Filling and Discontinuous Totalising Automatic Weighing Machines) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Weighing Equipment (Filling and Discontinuous Totalising Automatic Weighing Machines) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1986.

In relation both to filling machines and discontinuous totalisers the Regulations make new provision relating to their sealing after testing (regulations 4 and 12).

The changes made by the Regulations in relation to discontinuous totalisers take account of International Recommendation R107 “Discontinuous totalizing automatic weighing instruments (totalizing hopper weighers)” issued by the International Organisation for Legal Metrology and available from the Organisation at 11 rue Turgot, Paris, 75009, France.

The principal such changes are—

(1) provision is made for four classes of accuracy of discontinuous totalisers (regulations 3(a), 6(a), 10 and 14);

(2) new provision is made for the subdivision of totalisation scale intervals of discontinuous totalisers (regulation 5);

(3) the requirement that a non-automatic weighing instrument shall be sited in the vicinity of, and available for use in conjunction with, a discontinuous totaliser is omitted (regulation 7), but an inspector may require a person submitting a discontinuous totaliser for testing to provide such a machine (regulation 8(b));

(4) new provision is made concerning the erection of discontinuous totalisers before testing (regulation 8(a));

(5) provision is made for the acceptance of tests for discontinuous totalisers imported from other member States of the European Union or contracting parties to the European Economic Area Agreement (regulations 9 and 11); and

(6) the requirements relating to methods of testing of discontinuous totalisers are modified (regulation 13).

Copies of EN 45001 (BS 7501) referred to in regulation 9 may be obtained from: any of the sales outlets operated by the British Standards Institution (BSI); any bookshop of the Stationery Office; or by post from BSI at Linford Wood, Milton Keynes MK14 6LE.

These Regulations have been notified to the European Commission pursuant to Council Directive 83/189/EEC (O.J. No. L109, 26.4.83, p. 8) as amended by Council Directive 88/182/EEC (O.J. No. L81, 26.3.88, p. 75) and European Parliament and Council Directive 94/10/EC (O.J. No. L100, 19.4.94, p. 30) which lays down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations.