When the European Commission (EC) PED 97/23/CE was adopted in May 1997, it became clear that pressure equipment designed and built to standards other than European standards could carry the ?CE? marking. This was made possible by the European approach, in which Essential Safety Requirements (ESR) are established in the Directives, and standards are used to support them. The PED 97/23/CE has now been aligned with the new legislative framework and replaced by Directive 2014/68/EU, issued 15 May 2014. The new PED shall be applied no later than July 19, 2016, except that Article 13 shall be applied from June 1, 2015.

The purpose of this ASME PED Guide is to provide analysis of the PED and compare its ESR with the design, construction, and administrative requirements of ASME BPVC Section I. The first portion of the PED Guide consists of Chapters I through XI, which gives an overview of the PED, provides important basic information on the entire Directive, and identifies specific issues of higher importance. The next major portion is Chapters XII and XIII, which provide a comparison of the PED and ASME BPVC Section I requirements, including commentary on both the PED ESRs (Annex I) and ASME BPVC Section I. Chapter XIII provides ASME BPVC Section I Code users with additional considerations on how to augment their current practices to meet all ESRs of the PED.

It is the intent that this Guide will form the basis for an understanding between manufacturers and Notified Bodies (NB) regarding the use of ASME BPVC Section I as the basis for compliance with the PED. Having such a uniform approach will benefit not only manufacturers and NBs, but also users of pressure equipment.