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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(78)134
Vol.1978/0047

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(78)134final.
Brussels,3April1973
Proposalfora
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
adaptingtotechnicalprogresstheCouncilDirective
of19November1973ontheapproximation ofthelaws
oftheMemberStatesrelatingtomaterialmeasures
oflength
(submittedtotheCouncil "bytheCommission)
CQM(78)134final.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
I.GeneraI
TheCouncilDirective(73/262/EEC)ontheapproximation oftheLawsofthe
MemberStatesrelatingtomaterialmeasuresoflenghtwasadoptedon19
November1973.
Sinceitsadoption,theCommissionhasreceivedfromMemberStatesand
fromtheEuropeanToolsCommittee(ComiteeuropeendeI'outillage-CEO)
whichlinkstheindustriesconcernedseveralrequestsforadaptation
ofthisdirectivetotechnicalprogress.,
Theserequestswere,justifiedmainlyonthegroundsthatnewmeasuresof
lenghtwhicharenotcoveredbytheDirectivehaveapprearedonthe
Europeanmarketandthatnewmethodsofmanufacture mustalsobetaken
intoconsideration inorderthatthetextoftheEuropeanlegislation
mayacquireabroaderscope.Inviewoftheserequestsandonthebasis
ofinformationcollectedonthissubject,thecompetentCommissiondepart­
mentshave,overthepasttwoyears,organizedmeetingsofgovernment
expertswiththeclose-collaboration ofrepresentatives ofindustry.
♦
II.Procédure ,
TheCouncilDirectives may,aftersomeyearsofapplication provetobe
outofdatewithrespecttocurrentmanufacturing techniquesinthefield
oftheinstruments concerned,sincetechnicalprogressissometimesso
fastthat,bothatnationalandatinternatioaal level,legaltextsare
overtakenbyevents. "
Awareofthisfact,in1969whenageneralprogrammefortheelimination
oftechnicalbarrierstotradewasIsiddown,theCouncilpasseda
resolutionconcerningtheadaptationofdirectivestotechnicalprogress.
Thisresolution,whichwas-adopted on28May1969,waspublishedonpage8
oftheOfficialJournalof17June1969.
Furthermorearticles17,18and19oftheCouncilDirectiveof26July1971
onprovisionsrelatingtobothmeasuringinstrumentsandmethodsofmetro­
logicalcontrol(71/316/EEC)introducedthisprocedureandprovidedforthe
settingupofaCommitteeforAdaptationtoTechnicalprogress.
Inthelightofthevariousdataandhavingregardtotheprocedurelaid
down,thecompetentCommissiondepartmentshave,asaresultofthemeetings
heldwiththenationalexperts,preparedadraftdirectiveadaptatingto
technicalprogress'thedirectiverelatingtomaterialmeasuresoflenght.
•••/■••

Thefinaltextdrawnupbythecompetent Commission departments metnot
onlywiththeagreementoftheindustries concernedbutalsowithalmost
theunanimousapprovalofthenationalexpertswhohadtakenpartinthe
preparation ofthedraft.Itwasnotpossibletoattaincompleteunanimity,
sincetheexpertsfromoneMemberStatehadindicatedthatwhiletheywere;
inagreementwiththeproposedamendments,theywouldhavelikedothers
tobeintroduced aswellandthoughtthattheproposaldidnotgofar
enought.Theiradditional proposals,howeverdidnotmeetwiththeapproval
oftheotherexperts,andtheCommission departments thoughtitbetterto
dropthem.
Inthesecircumstances andinordertoavoidanydelayintheupdatingof
thisCouncilDirective,theCommission representative transmitted thedraft
to.eachMemberStatewithinthetimelimitlaiddownintheCommittee's
ownrulesofprocedure . <
Duringthisperiod,twocommentsweresenttotheCommission'sdepartments .
OneoftheseconcernedthenewtextofSection4.1reexceeding theprinci­
palscalemarks,which0nedelegation wasunabletoacceptbecauseofthe
differenceininterpretation towhichthisnewprovision wasliabletogive
riseascomparedwiththecorresponding sectioninInternational Recomman-
dationN°35oftheInternational Organization ofLegalMetrology (IOML).
Futhermore,onedelegation consideredthatthisproposalforadaptation
to.technicalprogresswasnotsufficiently exhaustive .
* *
OpinionoftheCommittee
\
Inviewofthissituationtheadaptationdraftwassubmitted on19January
1978totheappropriate Committeeforadaptation totechnicalprogress,
namelytheMeasuringInstruments Committee.Thelatterdidnotgivea
favourable opinion,sincetwodelegations finallysupportedtheviewthat
theadaptationdraftshouldaccordwiththeIOMLtextasregardsthepro­
visiononthegraduation andnumberingofmeasuresoflenght.The quali­
fiedmajoritywasnotreachedandtheCommission wasthereforeobligedto
followtheprocedurelaiddownbytheCouncilResolutionof28May1969,
i.e."withoutdelaysubminttotheCouncilaproposalonthemeasuresto
betaken".
f
Althoughitwasnotpossiblejtoreachaqualifiedmajorityonthedraft
submittedtotheCommittee,theCommissionfeltthatthedraftshouldbe
presentedtotheCouncilunchanged,sinceitremainedconvincedthatthis
draftwas,inthepresentstateoftheart,.thebestsuitedtomeetthe
needsofindustryintheCommunity .Anyamendmenttotheproposedtext
(waslikelytoplacemostofthedelegations indifficulty .Moreovereachof
theindividualpointsinthedrafthadDeenapprovedbythemajorityof
thedelegates .

-3-*
IV.Conclusions andproposals .
Inviewoftheforegoingconsiderations itisherebyproposedthat,in
accordancewiththeprocedurelaiddowninArticle3Cb)oftheCouncil
Resolutionof28May1969andofArticle19(3)(b)oftheCouncilDirec­
tiveof26July1971relatingtodownmeasuringinstruments andmethods
ofmetrological control,theCommissionshouldsubmittotheCouncilthe
proposalforadirectiveattachedhereto. '

COUNCILDIRECTIVE
adaptingtotechnicalprogresstheDirective 71/316/EEC
ontheapproximation ofthelawsoftheMemberStates
relatingtomaterialmeasuresoflength
THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Havingregardtothe.Treatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomicCommunity,
HavingregardtoCouncilDirective 71/316/EECof26July1971onthe
approximation ofthelawsoftheMemberStatesrelatingtocommon
provisionsforbothmeasuringinstruments andmethodsofmetrological
(1)control,asamendedbytheActofAccession,andinparticularArticles
17,18and19thereof,
HavingregardtoCouncilDirective 73/362/EECof19November1973onthe
approximation ofthelawsoftheMemberStatesrelatingtomaterialmeasures
*.^(2)oflength,
. i
HavingregardtotheproposalfromtheCommission; *
Whereas,sincethepreparation andadoptionofDirective ■73/362/EEC,
newmaterialmeasuresoflengthhavebeendeveloped andwhereasthesaid
Directive shouldtherefore beamendedtotakeaccountoftechnical
progress;
Whereason19January1978theCommission submitted aproposedamendmentto
theCommittee ontheadaptation toTechnicalProgressoftheDirectives
concerning theelimination oftechnicalbarrierstotradeinmeasuring
instruments foritsopinion;whereas,noopinionhavingbeendelivered,
theCommission,inaccordance withtheprocedurelaiddowninArticle19(3)(b)
ofDirective 71/316/EEC,proposedtotheCouncilthemeasurestobeadopted,
(1)OJNoL202,6.9.1971,p.1.
(2)OJNoL335,5.12.1973/p.56.

-2-
HASADOPTEDTHISDIRECTIVE :
Article 1
IntheAnnextoDirective73/362/EECitems3.6.,4:1.,5.1./6.3./,7.1./
7.2./7.3./8/9.1/9.2.and9.4areherebyamendedinaccordancewiththeAnnex
hereto.Item9.5isdeleted.
Article 2
1.MemberStatesshalladoptthelaws,regulations andadministrative
provisions neededinordertocomplywiththisDirectiveinsucha
mannerthattheseprovisions shalltakeeffectoneyearafterthe
dateofnotification ofthisDirective andshallforthwith informthe
ψ
Commission thereof.
2.MemberStatesshallcommunicate totheCommission thetextsofthe
provisionsofnationallawwhichtheyadoptinthefieldcoveredby
ι . ·.■tinsDirective .
■ «
Article3
ThisDirectiveisaddressedtotheMemberStates.
DoneatBrussels/
FortheCouncil

ΑΗΝΞΧ
Tapemeasuresshallbemadesothatwhenthetapeisstretched
outonaflatsurfaceitsedgesarepracticallystraightand
parallel.
Alongtheirnominallength,measuresoflengthshallcarryclear,
regularandindeliblegraduationandnumbering,insuchaway
thattheyenableasure,simpleandunambiguousreadingtobe
made.
However,somenon-numbered scalemarksmayextendbeyondthe
principalscalemarks.
Thenominallengthofthemeasures -shallbeoneofthefolloiiring
valúes:0.5–1–1.5–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–metres,
oracompletemultipleof5metres.
Alltheseincriptionsshallbegivenvisiblyandlegibly,
startingatthebeginningofthemeasure.
However,inagreementwiththenationalauthorityconcerned,
certaininscriptions mayappearonanintegralpartofthe
instrument.Inthiscase,theEECpatternapprovalcertificate
shallstatewheretheseincriptions aretobeplaced.
Furthermore ,wherethewidthofthemeasureoflengthdoesnot
enabl^theEECpatternapprovalsigntoappearlegibly,that
signmayappear,notwithstanding theprovisionsin3.1.of
AnnexItotheCouncilDirective(71/316/ESC)of26July1971,and,
ontheapproximation ofthelawsofthe.MemberStatesrelating '
tocommonprovisionsforbothmeasuringinstruments andmethods
ofmetrological control,andinaccordancewith3.5-ofthis
Annex,intheformofthefollowingsigns,arrangedin »
succession :
–thestylizedletter.c-
–thedistinguishing letter(s)oftheMemberStatewhichhas
grantedEECpatternapproval
–thelast,twodigitsoftheyear-ofEECpatternapproval
–thereferencenumberoftheEECpatternapproval(e.g.,^F75-5345)

-2-
7. Maximmn permisslblø arrora
7.1 Themeasures oflength defined inthis Directive shall "be
divided intothree classes ,designated I,IIandIII,according
totheir degree ofaccuracy .
InEECinitial verification ofmeasures oflength ,themaximum permis­
sible error ,plus orminus •
a)onthenominal length and
b)onthedistance between anytwonon-consecutive scale marks ,
shall beexpressed asafunction ofthelength inquestion byaformula
inthe form (a+bL)millimetres ,inwhich :
–Listhelength inquestion ,rounded uptothenext whole
metre above ;
–♦a*and ,Varecoefficients fixed for each class ofaccuracy
according tothefollowing table :
Class ofaccuracy a [y I
I 0.1/ i
i0.1
11 ' ' 0.3 0.2
III
t0.6 0.4
7.2.1 Themaximum permissible error ,plus orminus ,onthelength of
ι
theintervals notexceeding 1;cmshall befixed foreach class
ofaccuracy according tothefollowing table :
Length *1*ofthe ~
Interval inquestion
■ . iMaximum permissible error inmilli –
_metres forclass ofaccuracy
11 III ;
i'^=-1 mm -
1mm<^i^1cmr :
' '0.1 ,.
0.20.2
0.40.3 ,
0.ó
Inthecase ofintervals exceeding 1cm,themaximum permissible
error shall beexpressed asafunction ofthelength ofthe
interval bytheformula (a+bL)mm ,where thevalues ofthe
parameters areequal tothose given in7-1 •andwhere Listhe
length inquestion ,rounded uptothenext whole metre above .

-3-
7.2P2Themaximumpermissibledifferencebetween "thelengthsiof
twoconsecutiv eintervalsnotexceeding 1cmshallbefixed
foreachclassofaccuracyaccordingtothefollowingtable:
Lengthiofthe
intervalinquestionMaximumpermissibledifferencein
millimetresforclassofaccuracy
I II III
i/1mm
1mm^i^1cm0.1 0r20.3
0.2 0.4 0.6 '
Inthecaseofintervalsexceeding 1cm,themaximumpermissible
differencebetweenthelengthsioftwoconsecutiveintervals
shallbeexpressedasafunctionofthelengthoftheinterval ^
by^theformula(a+bL)mm,asdefinedin7-2.1.
7.3HoweverforanendorcompositemeasureofLengththemaximumpermissible
error,plusorminus,onthelengthoftheterminalinterval
boundedbyasurfaceshallbeincreased:
'–by0.1mmformeasuresofclassI
■–by0.2mmformeasuresofclassII
-by0.3mmformeasuresofclassIII
Moreover,theprovisionssetoutinitems7.1and7.2.2donotapply:
-whenoneofthe;n.onconsecutive scale-marks asreferredtoinitem
7.1b)isformedbyasurface,and
-whenone'ofthetwo'consecutive'scale-marks asreferred'toinitem7.2.2
isaterminalintervalboundedbyanend.
8.Verification marks ..
Everymeasureoflengthshallbeconstructedinsuchawaythat
itisabletoreceivetheverification markslaiddownby
CouncilDirective71/316/EECof26July1971ontheapproximation
ofthelawsoftheMemberStatesrelatingtocommonprovisions
•'forbothmeasuringinstrumentsandmethodsofmetrological
controi.

-4-
Aplacenearthebeginningofthemeasureshallbeprovidedfor
thispurposeonthemeasureitselforonanintegraladditional
device.
•*
9.1Fibreglassandplasticend,lineorcompositetapemeasures
Nominallengthbetween0.5and100metres.
Thetractiveforce,ofabout20IT,shallbeshownonthemeasure.
Thefreeendsofendandcompositemeasuresshallbeprovided
withabandortipresistanttowear.*
ThesemeasuresshallbelongtoclassesofaccuracyI,IIorIII.
9.2Measuresmadeinonepiece,rigidorsemi–rigid,inmetalor
othermaterial "
Mominallengthbetween0.5and5metres.
Thereferencetemperature may,insomecases,beotherthan20C.
Thesemeasuresalsoincludedipsticksusedforcheckingthe
levelofliquids.
Theendofarigiddipstickshallbeprovidedwithabuttor
tipresistanttoimpactandwear.Itshallnotcausesparking •
onimpact. ~ '
Thesemeasuresshall,belongtoclassesofaccuracyIorII.
9.4'Steeltape"measures
9.4.1End,lineorcompositemeasuresonawinder.
Nominallengthbetween0.5and10metres;thebladesofmeasures
between5and10metresshallbeofcamberedcross-section .,
Thesemeasuresmaybecontainedinacase,oneofwhosedimensions
maybeincludedinthepartusedformeasuring,particularlyfor
measuringinternaldimensions;thefreeendofthesemeasures
,:■shallbeprovidedwithafixedorslidinghookortongue.
ThesemeasuresshallbelongtoclassesofaccuracyIorII.

5-
9.4.2End.orlinemeasures,designedformeasuringlengthsgreater
thanthenominallengthofthemeasure.
Nominallength:5,10,20,50,100or200metres.
Thetractiveforce,ofabout50N,shallbeshownonthemeasure.
Thesemeasuresshallbeequippedwithhandlesorringsatthe
twoends.
Ifthehandlesareincludedinthenominallength,theyshallbe
constructedinsuchawaythattheirjointingdoesnotintroduce
anyinaccuracyofmeasurement .
ThesemeasuresshallbelongtoclassesofaccuracyIorII.
9.4.3Lineorcompositemeasuresonawindernotdesignedforthe
measuringoflengthsgreaterthanthenominallength.
Nominallengthbetween5and200metres.
Thereferencetemperaturemay,in'certaincases,beotherthan20°C.
Thetractiveforceofabout50Nshallbeshownonthemeasure.
Thefreeendshallincludeahandle,ringorhookwhichshallnotbe
includedinthenominallength.
ThesemeasuresshallbelongtoclassesofaccuracyIorII.
9.4.4Compositedip-tapeswithsinkers,usedforcheckingthelevelof
liquids.
Nominallengthbetween5and50metres.
'. .... --0Thereferencetemperature may,xncertaincases,beotherthan20C.
Thetractiveforce,sufficienttoextendthetapecorrectly,must
beshownonthemeasure.Thistractiveforceshallbeexerted
onthemeasurewiththeaidofasinkerwhichmustbearan
indication ofitsmass.
Theprincipalscalemark,beginningthescale,shallbe
constituted bythebaseofasinkerofappropriate shapeandofa
materialnotliabletocausesparkingonimpact.
Thesinkershallbeattachedtothetapeinafixedordetachable
waysothatthisattachmentorjointingdoesnotintroduceany
inaccuracyofmeasurement.

_6-
Theentirelengthofthetapeshallbegraduatedinmillimetres and
thegraduationshallcontinueononeflatsideofthesinker.
Theotherendofthemeasuremaybeequippedwithawinder.
Thesemeasuresshall"belongtoclassesofaccuracyIorII,
however,themaximumpermissibleerroroftheinstrumentin
positionforusewiththesinkershallneverbelessthan0.6mm.