ERA-GUI-100.pdf - Europa

Guide for the application of the Art 14 (a) of the Safety Directive and Commission Regulation (EU) No 445/2011
on a system of certification of entities in charge of maintenance for freight wagons – VERSION 1.0
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Scope
This guide provides information on the application of the "Commission Regulation (EU) No
445/2011 of 10 May 2011 on a system of certification of entities in charge of maintenance for
freight wagons 1 [1]” as referred to in Article 14(a) of the Safety Directive. That regulation will be
referred to in the present document as the "ECM Regulation".
This guide aims at a correct and common understanding of the concepts of ECM developed in the
ECM Regulation but does not contain any legally binding advice. It contains explanatory
information of potential use to all actors 2 whose activities may have an impact on the safety of
railway systems and who directly or indirectly need to apply the ECM Regulation. It may serve as a
clarification tool without however dictating in any manner compulsory procedures to be followed
and without establishing any legally binding practice. The guide provides explanations on the
provisions contained in the ECM Regulation and should aid understanding of the approaches and
rules described therein.
The guide needs to be read and used only as a non-binding informative document and to
help the different stakeholders with the application of the ECM Regulation. It should be
used in conjunction with the ECM Regulation to facilitate its application but it does not
replace it.
The guide has been prepared by the European Railway Agency (ERA) with the support of
Recognised Bodies and National Safety Authority experts. It represents a developed collection of
information gathered by the Agency during internal meetings and meetings with ACBs (Accredited
Certification Bodies), RCBs ( Recognised Certification Bodies) and NSAs, it has been amended
with the feedbacks received during the different dissemination workshops in 2012 and 2013.
ERA will organise other workshops during 2013, and when necessary, ERA will review and update
the guide to reflect the progress with the return from experience on the implementation of the ECM
Regulation received during these workshops. As it is not possible to give a timetable for this
revision process at the time of writing, the reader should refer to the Agency for information about
the latest available edition of the guide or consult the Agency website (http://www.era.europa.eu).
The ECM Regulation provides a framework for the harmonisation of requirements and methods to
assess the ability of entities in charge of maintenance for freight wagons. Even if the definition of
1 OJ L122/22, 11.5.2011
2 The concerned actors are the contracting entities as defined in Article 5 of ECM Regulation
including their suppliers and service providers, or the certification bodies as defined in
Article 6 of ECM Regulation.
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