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Glass for Europe publishes proposal to amend Construction Products Regulation (CPR).

The European Flat Glass Association has published recommendations for revisions to the Construction Products Regulation (CPR).

"Glass for Europe welcomes the European Commission's proposal for a new construction products regulation," said Justin Loup, Technical Regulation and Projects Consultant. "This proposal could strengthen the single market principle for construction products and stimulate the industry towards greater sustainability direction of development.”

Glass for Europe calls on the European Parliament and Council to focus on three important items in the European Commission proposal calling for adjustments. "In order for CPR to be truly viable, it should be adapted to the realities of the construction industry," said Justin Loup.

First, some procedures should be simplified so that thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises in the flat glass industry can operate efficiently. In the new CPR should be reintroduced the simplified procedures that currently allow the recognition of test results obtained by other manufacturers, as well as the possibility of superseding type calculations by technical documents specified in the Harmonized Technical Specifications.

Second, some more practical regulations on the sustainability of building products are needed. The sustainable performance of architectural glass products depends on too many environmental parameters, as well as the buildings in which the glass products will be installed. Therefore, putting traffic light labels on these products does not effectively inform users.

Finally, Glass for Europe believes that the digital development of the industry should be better supported. Planned EU databases or systems must avoid overly prescriptive and outdated requirements. It should be intelligent and allow data to be shared smoothly without requiring extensive human and financial resources.

Figure 1 The flat glass building industry and the insulating glass building industry 1

Figure 1 The flat glass building industry and the insulating glass building industry 1

Brief Introduction to the Construction Products Regulation (CPR)

The EU Construction Product Regulation [l] is referred to as the EU CPR Regulation. The European Union published a new Construction Products Regulation (305/2011/EU-CPR) on March 9, 2011, replacing the old Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC-CPD). And announced that the EU CPR regulations will enter the enforcement stage in July 2013. CE certification has been following the CPD directive for a long time so far, namely the Construction Product Directive (89/106/EEC).

To more strictly enforce the CE certification of construction products, the EU's Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 (CPR for short) will fully replace the original CPD directive for CE certification of construction products since July 1, 2013. into the enforcement phase. Based on the original restrictions on construction product manufacturers, the new regulations have made new requirements for traders, importers and distributors, and other links related to product circulation.

All construction products involving health, safety, and environmental protection must be affixed with the CE mark, otherwise, they will not be allowed to enter the EU market for circulation. The new regulations will make the procedural requirements and technical language of construction products entering the EU market more transparent, rigorous, and precise. Guarantee EU users (architects, engineers, builders) to choose the most suitable product for the intended use of the construction project.

Four elements of the CPR EU Construction Products Regulation:

I. Harmonized standards and norms;

Harmonized standards are divided into Harmonised European standards (hENs) and European Assessment Documents (EADs). Harmonized standards apply to traditional products and are unanimously approved by EU member states to regulate certain types of construction products. unified product standards;

EU Technical Assessment Documents (EADs) are not official product standards issued. They are aimed at innovative products that require market entry supervision. Usually, such products have not yet formed formal product standards. It will authorize relevant technical assessment bodies (Technical Assessment Bodies (TABs)) to formulate relevant technical assessment documents (schemes). This scheme needs to be approved by the EU

Standards Technical Committee, and then authorize the relevant EAB to perform a product conformity assessment;

For building products, there are currently more than 400 harmonized standards. 

The harmonized standards for building door and window hardware products are as follows:

Harmonized Standards (hENs) and corresponding productsNon-harmonized standards 
(Non-hENs) and corresponding products
EN 1935 (Door Hyun Chain)EN 1906 (Door Knob)
EN 12209 (Door locks)EN 1303 (Lock cylinders/lock heads)
EN 1154 (Door closers)EN 13126 (Window hardware)
EN 179 (Emergency Door Locks)/
EN 1125 (Escape Door Locks)
EN 14846 (Electromechanical/electrical door locks)
EN 1158 (Door shutters)

II. Conformity assessment method;

Assessment MethodResponsibilitiesNotified Body TypeTasks
System 1+Notified Body (NB)Product Certification Body
1. First type inspection
2. First factory audit
3. Ongoing factory production supervision
4. Market Sampling
5.The issue, restrict, suspend, and withdraw product certification.
Manufacturer-
1. Factory production control
2. Product periodic re-inspection (self-inspection)
System 1Notified Body (NB)Product Certification Body
1. First type inspection
2. First factory audit
3. Ongoing factory production supervision
4. The issue, restrict, suspend, and withdraw product certification.
Manufacturer-
1. Factory production control
2. Product periodic re-inspection (self-inspection)
System 2+Notified Body (NB)Product certification body (Factory production control certification Body)
1. First type inspection
2. First factory audit
3. Ongoing factory production supervision
4. The issue, restrict, suspend, and withdraw product certification.
Manufacturer-
1. Product self-inspection
2. Product periodic re-inspection (self-inspection)
System 3Notified Body (NB)Notified Laboratory
First type inspection
Manufacturer-Factory production control
System 4Manufacturer(no third party involved)1. Product self-inspection
2. Factory production control


III. Notified bodies and their structures;

The conformity assessment methods in the table above stipulate that different notified bodies perform corresponding tasks;

The notified body is recognized by the European Standards Committee and officially announced;

Each recognized public institution will be given a unique identification code at the same time, such as Intertek (Tianxiang) identification 811 code is 0359;

According to different functions, it is divided into product certification agency, production control agency, testing agency (Gongji Laboratory)«,

Its corresponding different functions (tasks) are described in the table above.

IV. CE certification mark (CE Marking);

CE marking elements (as follows):

CE characters, compliant with EU Directive 93/68/EEC (character size, scaling)Conformity assessment body (notified body code) such as Intertek (0359)
0359
Anything Ltd, PO Box 21, B-1050Manufacturer's Address
15The year number (the last two digits) when the CE label was affixed
For 2015, mark '15'
0359-CPR-00234Certificate number: aaaa-CPR-xxxxx,
aaaa, the code of the notified body;
'CPR' Construction Product Regulation;
'XXXXX, certificate serial number
EN 1935:2012Product harmonized standard and version number (year of issue);
EN 1935 (door hinges);
EN 12209 (door locks);
EN 14846
(electromechanical/electrical door locks);
Single-axis hinge intended to be used for a fire doorProduct Definition
Such as hinges for fire doors, locks...
Self-closing:
-initial friction torque 0,9 Nm
-load-deformation Pass
-overload Pass
Ability to release
-initial friction torque 0,9 Nm
-load-deformation Pass
-overload Pass
Suitability for use Pass
Durability
-lateral and vertical wear Pass
-maximum frictional torque
-after 20 cycles 0,9 Nm
-after completion 0,9 Nm
-corrosion resistance Grade 4
Important product characteristics
(Essential characteristic)


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