CLASSIFICATION OF PPE

There are three categories of PPE:
• PPE category 1: protection against minor risks (e.g. gloves, sun glasses);
• PPE category 2: all PPE which does not fall in the other two categories (e.g. helmet);
• PPE category 3: protection against serious risks/death (e.g. harnesses, connectors, slings).
All the equipment to protect against falls from height are Category 3 PPE.
Category 1
The producer certifiers the PPE and applies the CE marking.
Category 2
The PPE must be certified by a notified body who, after having approved the characteristics and information provided with the device, issues a CE conformity certficate.
Category 3
The PPE must be certified CE by a notified body and the producer must have a CE-certified Quality Control System which guarantees the maintenance of quality standards (art. 11b Directive 89/686/EEC) or, if there is no CE-certified Quality Control System, the PPE must be re-certified each year (art. 11a directive 89/686/CEE).
Conformity with the directive is established by the Notified Organisation through the application of the harmonised European Technical Norms (EN) (e.g. EN 361 fall arrester harness, EN 355 energy absorber, etc..).
Most of the equipment produced by Climbing Technology to safeguard against falls from height are Category 3 PPE.