CE Marking - CONSTRUCTION Products

CE marking for construction products in 5 POINTS Print text only Must I CE mark my construction product? If your product complies with the following definition: "a product which is produced for incorporation in a permanent manner in construction works, including both buildings and civil engineering works, and which is placed on the European internal market. " then the answer is YES. This definition comes almost directly from the Construction Products Directive or CPD (89/106/CE). You can also read: The Construction Products Directive (Council Directive 89/106/CE) Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to construction products. Why must I CE mark my construction product? The intention of the CPD is to establish an Internal Market for construction products through technical harmonisation thereby removing technical barriers to trade. In simple terms, the CPD is replacing all national standards, approval systems, conformity systems, or other systems, which can constitute technical barriers to trade in a single European system. This single European system is based on European harmonised technical specifications which will replace all conflicting national specifications. All these conflicting national specifications must be withdrawn once the harmonised European versions are available. The production mechanisms of the harmonised European technical specifications ensure that all national building regulations are taken into account so that no Member State has the legal right to impose any additional national requirements. The introduction of CE marking will have direct tangible positive effects for the construction products industry but the indirect effects, through enhanced trade opportunities, will be a far greater. If you would like to learn more about this then please read the following: Case studies: " the Effects of regulation and technical harmonisation on the intra-community trade in construction products". When must I CE mark my construction product? CE marking is obligatory for every product placed on the EEA (European Economical area or the European Union + Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) market as soon as all conditions are fulfilled to enable this. In reality this means that a harmonised technical specification for your product must be available and in force. The Commission publishes the references of the harmonised technical specifications in the Official Journal of the European Union. Each reference is published along with 2 dates. The "date of application" which is the date after which the specification is in force and CE marking becomes legally possible. The "date of the end of the co-existence period" is also given, which is the date after which CE marking becomes obligatory for every product (covered by the particular specification) that is placed on the European market. Follow these links for an update on the harmonised technical specifications available: Summary list of references to harmonised standards The information contained in the summary list is a compilation of the references of standards which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. Although the list is updated regularly, it may not be complete and does not have any legal validity; only publication in the Official Journal produces legal affect. Summary list of references to ETA Guidelines The information contained in the summary list is a compilation of the references of ETA Guidelines which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. Although the list is updated regularly, it may not be complete and does not have any legal validity. How must I CE mark my construction product? The Construction Products Directive defines a number of tasks that have to be done. It also indicates who has the responsibility to undertake these tasks. In many cases it is the manufacturer who can perform all tasks and associated tests and declare that his product conforms to the harmonised technical specification. In other cases the intervention of a third party, or “Notified Body” is necessary and it is this “Notified Body” that will have to perform certain tasks. The decision on "who does what" has been taken by the Standing Committee on Construction, a committee grouping all Member States authorities, a number of observers of Industry and specification writers, and chaired by the Commission. This "who does what" information is translated into a numerical system, with levels 1 to 4 which are called Attestation of Conformity levels. The numbering indicates a combination of tasks for the manufacturer and for the Notified Body, with level 4 indicating no intervention of a Notified body and leve1 1 indicating full intervention. Levels in between indicate differing levels of involvement. These Attestation of Conformity levels are given in Commission Decisions published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This makes these Decisions binding throughout Europe; there are no exceptions possible. The publication in the Official Journal is the only legal reference where you can find which attestation of conformity system applies to your product. However, the Commission has published a database on the Internet bringing together information for most products. Attestation of Conformity systems for construction products. This compilation brings together relevent information from the Commission Decisions on the procedure for attesting the conformity of construction products pursuant to Article 20 (2) of Council Directive 89/106/EEC. Nando-CPD: Information source on the Notified Bodies in the construction sector This site gives information concerning the scopes of the notifications of the notified bodies under article 18 of the Construction products Directive (89/106/CE). These organisations have been designated by the Member States to perform tasks related to the attestation of conformity of construction products. Is this all getting very complicated? It shouldn't be. All information necessary to apply CE marking to your product, including "who does what", in a legally correct way should be available in the harmonised technical specification for your product. The standards should all clearly identify who is responsible for which tasks. The Notified Bodies are designated on basis of competence by the Member States and are active in a European Group of Notified Bodies, which should ensure that they are well prepared for their tasks and working in a uniform way. The move towards CE marking certainly requires some effort but the potential benefits make it more than worth it. In any case, this website is a small attempt to provide you with the useful information. CE Marking: the most solid system around… The Internal Market Completing the Internal Market for construction products mainly through the implementation of the Construction Products Directive. In the short-term, by supporting the production of standards and European Technical Agreements and, in the longer term, by integrating dangerous substances and environmental requirements in the harmonised specifications. Related Reading Construction Home page of the Construction Unit of DG Enterprise.

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