CE Documentation Project for Clewat Oy
Founded in 2018, Clewat Oy is an environmental technology company specializing in innovative solutions for cleaning waterways. Its vessels are designed to remove plastic waste, harmful aquatic vegetation, and oil from lakes, rivers and coastal waters. The company’s latest innovation is a snow cleaning and melting system that removes a significant proportion of harmful contaminants from collected snow. Installed on a floating platform, the system uses the thermal energy of seawater pumped through the unit to melt the snow before filtering the meltwater and capturing the separated waste.
As Clewat prepared to bring the system to market, the company partnered with Optotec to develop the technical documentation required for CE marking.
“When we reached the commercialization stage, it became clear that we needed the documentation required for CE marking. Since we did not have that expertise in-house, I contacted an Optotec sales representative I already knew and asked whether they could help us. The answer was yes,” says Clewat’s founder Johannes Myllykoski.
Building Compliance from the Ground Up
Every CE documentation project begins with a thorough understanding of the regulatory framework governing the product. The first step is to identify the applicable legislation, directives and harmonized standards, followed by a systematic assessment of compliance and the methods required to demonstrate it. Once these requirements have been addressed, the technical file, user documentation and EU Declaration of Conformity are prepared, enabling the product to be CE marked.
For Clewat’s snow cleaning and melting system, the project began with a detailed review of the legislation and directives applicable to the product.
“Our collaboration with Optotec got off to an excellent start. From the very beginning, it was obvious that their team knew exactly what they were doing. They clearly explained what information and documentation they needed, allowing us to move forward efficiently. I produced the initial drafts, and Optotec transformed them into professional, well-structured documentation,” Myllykoski recalls.
Demonstrating Compliance Through Engineering Expertise
Once the applicable requirements had been identified, the focus shifted to evaluating product-related risks. Optotec conducted a comprehensive risk assessment to identify potential safety hazards and define appropriate methods for demonstrating compliance.
Compliance can be verified in several ways. Applying harmonized standards is often the most straightforward approach, as these standards are recognized as meeting the essential requirements of the relevant legislation. Depending on the product, compliance may also be demonstrated through testing, engineering simulations, and technical calculations.
For Clewat’s system, technical calculations played a key role in verifying the identified risks. One example involved assessing the effect of wind loads on the stability of the floating equipment. Based on the analysis, the locations of the securing strap attachment points were optimized, significantly reducing the risk of overturning.
Clear Documentation Supports Safe Operation
Alongside the risk assessment and engineering calculations, Optotec supported Clewat in refining the product’s user manual. Working from the customer’s draft, our specialists expanded the documentation with additional safety instructions and warning labels to help ensure safe and reliable operation. The project concluded with guidance on preparing the EU Declaration of Conformity.
By the end of the project, Clewat had a complete set of technical documentation demonstrating the product’s compliance with applicable EU requirements and supporting its successful commercialization.
“We are extremely pleased with our cooperation with Optotec. Without their support, bringing this product to market would have been virtually impossible. Their experts delivered first-class work throughout the project. I have already recommended Optotec to several fellow entrepreneurs and would not hesitate to do so again,” Myllykoski concludes.