For organisations making strides to innovate secure and sustainable products, navigating the complex regulations to bring them to market can be a real challenge.
That is, unless they have the right specialist support on their side.
VPS Group provides bespoke temporary security solutions through a combination of monitored video technology, physical protection systems, and human intervention.
In 2020, they completed development of their groundbreaking ECO Tower, a solar-powered, mobile CCTV structure designed to monitor sites remotely.
And in light of the pandemic, where monitoring locations remotely had become mandatory in many cases, they were keen to bring this game-changing product to market as quickly as possible.
However, before they could bring the product to markets in Great Britain (GB) and European Economic Area (EEA), they needed to first obtain UKCA marking and CE marking compliance.
This is where we came in.
Download our free UKCA and CE Marking Guide here.
Navigating complex UKCA and CE marking requirements
UKCA marking is the required certification for products, equipment and machinery supplied to the GB market, while CE marking is the EU’s equivalent.
Achieving compliance with both markings requires a thorough understanding of regulatory standards and the ability to navigate complex certification processes.
We’ve worked with VPS since 2016, which means we deeply understand their products and have strong working relationships with their teams.
With years of experience in compliance testing and certification, we guided VPS through the entire compliance process, conducting the necessary testing, preparing the required documentation, and ensuring that the ECO Tower was fully compliant with specific legislation, including:
- The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations (UKCA)
- The Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Regulations (UKCA)
- Low Voltage Directive (LVD) (CE)
- Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) testing (CE)
By guiding VPS through the CE and UKCA marking process, we helped them get the ECO Tower certified and ready to go in record time. Here’s how we did it.
UKCA vs CE marking: What’s the difference? Find out in our guide.
A race against time
The market demand for the ECO Tower, especially during the pandemic, made it crucial to complete testing quickly and with COVID-19 safety measures in place to protect everyone involved.
We carried out LVD and EMC testing at VPS’s site in Manchester, ensuring minimal disruption and eliminating the need to transport the ECO Tower. This approach saved valuable time and helped streamline the process.
The testing itself took just three days to complete. We tested for conducted emissions, radiated emissions, RF conducted immunity, fast transient bursts, electrostatic discharge, surge immunity, voltage dips, radiated immunity, and harmonics & flicker—proving that the ECO Tower met the requirements of the relevant directives.
Throughout the testing process, we provided comprehensive support by collating and reviewing the Technical File for the ECO Tower, ensuring all documents were in order for self-certification. The files would also remain valid for the product’s lifetime, subject to any modifications.
Ready for market
With the completion of our testing services and their self-certification process, VPS could now be confident that their ECO Tower fulfilled all the necessary requirements and was ready for distribution, sale and hire across Europe and in the UK.
At a time when security and sustainability are becoming increasingly important from VPS clients’ perspective, the ECO Tower was ready to meet these needs.
Head of Compliance at VPS said:
''IES just come in and get a great job done. We value their ability to test at our site and work in line with our safe-working restrictions. They provided an efficient, well-thought-out method of testing, which caused minimum disruption to our ongoing business operations.”
Get your free UKCA and CE Marking Guide here for more.
Achieve UKCA & CE marking with total confidence
Our start-to-finish UKCA/CE marking service covers every step of the compliance process, from assessing and testing high-technology equipment against specific regulations to providing a Declaration of Conformity.
- ts with 30 years’ experience in compliance testing
- On-site assessments across the UK
- Testing in line with electrical, machinery and EMC regulations
Head to our compliance testing service page here to learn more.
