Working Group 2 and 7

Welmec Working Group 2 (Directive Implementation) held a very productive meeting covering important subjects such as revision of guides 2.2 (testing point of sales) and 2.4 (testing load cells) and the integration of guides 2.3 and 7.2 (examining software). Working Group 7 (Software) held a meeting in Berlin with two important issues on the agenda, the control of software during market surveillance and the use of IT standards to facilitate software evaluation.

Working Group 2

The following decisions were made during the WG2 meeting:

• WELMEC guide 2.2 (Testing Point of Sales) will be revised to cover the state of the art evaluation test based on OIML R76, edition 2006, particularly concerning software requirements. The Netherlands were asked to issue a preliminary draft guide as a basis for the discussions during the next WELMEC WG2 meeting on 25 and 26 September 2012.
• WELMEC guide 2.4 (Testing Load Cells) will be revised to upgrade the guide to the newest philosophy concerning voluntary modular approach as defined in WELMEC guide 8.8. This will put some additional requirements on producers of load cells concerning the technical documentation file that under the new guide has to be in conformity with article 10 of the MID.
• WG2 has accepted the UK proposal to delete table A.3.9.2.2.b in the corresponding tables for OIML R51 and will inform OIML accordingly.
• WG2 had decided to investigate if it is possible to integrate WELMEC guide 2.3 (Examining Software) in WELMEC guide 7.2 to establish that only one WELMEC workgroup and only one guide has to be consulted in respect to software evaluations and acceptable solutions for software to meet the essential requirements.

Working Group 7 - Software

WG7 had a meeting in Berlin with two important issues on the agenda, the control of software during market surveillance and the use of IT standards to facilitate software evaluation.

With respect to control of software, a special task force was created with members of WG2, WG5, WG7, WG8 as well as CECOD and CECIP to discuss the problems of evaluating software during market surveillance. The task force has gathered information on the problems that market surveillance authorities face while evaluating software during a market surveillance operation.

These problems have been discussed in WG7 and have led to the proposal that the requirements and acceptable solutions in WELMEC guide 7.2 will be evaluated again to the essential requirements of article 8.3.

This will probably have some consequences for risk class B, as the market surveillance authorities assume that it does not meet the essential requirements. A possible outcome of this discussion is that risk class B can no longer be used in legal metrology.

WG7 also discussed the possibility to use IT standards in legal metrology to facilitate the evaluation of software. If suitable IT standards can be found then a possible route is that these standards are referenced as harmonized standards. These IT standards could be the basis for Notified Bodies to evaluate the software.

WG7 has drafted a paper with the title “strategic consideration with respect to IT matters in Legal Metrology” that will be discussed during the next meeting on 21 and 22 November 2012.