CPA: Industry Prepares Guidance on New CPR Legislation

Thursday, 10 May 2012 8:46 AM

A Guidance Note on the Construction Products Regulation has been issued today which will help the construction industry understand new legislation that is being brought in from 1 July 2013. The changes in the legislation, which are mandatory, will require all manufacturers to apply CE marking to products that are covered either by a harmonised European Standard or by a European Technical Assessment.

The Guidance has been prepared jointly by the Construction Products Association, the British Board of Agrément, British Standards Institution and FBE Management Limited in consultation with the Trading Standards Institute and can be downloaded from all of these organisations’ websites.

Commenting on why the Guidance Note is necessary, Duncan King, Technical Officer at the Construction Products Association said: ‘This CPR Guidance Document has transformed 39 Euro-jargon pages into easily understood English that will enable the industry to implement these legislative changes once they are introduced in mid-2013. For the majority of manufacturers the changes to legislation will not be an issue as they have already been CE marking under the existing Construction Products Directive. However, for those product sectors, which up to now have not undertaken CE marking, these changes will be more of a revolution as they will need to implement a European testing methodology.

‘The Guide explains the role that manufacturers, importers and distributors must perform within CE marking legislation. However, despite the changes from the CPD, there really is nothing which will cause undue concern to the industry and even those who are having to CE mark for the first time and will have a more extensive learning curve to climb, it is nothing more than the rest of the construction products industry has already undergone and therefore should not cause undue problems.’

‘Changes in legislation will affect the importers and distributor network as new obligations are also placed on them and failure to comply will leave all open to prosecution with harsh penalties if found guilty.

‘We hope sincerely this Guide will assist the industry in developing a consensus of opinion which will reduce the instances of misunderstanding.’

Greg Cooper, Chief Executive of the BBA said; ‘The introduction of the CPR is one of the most significant changes facing the construction industry in recent times. There has been a lot of confusion about the implications for manufacturers, importers, distributors and specifiers, so the BBA is pleased to have collaborated with other key industry stakeholders in the creation of this guidance note to provide clarity for the industry.’

Tim Yates, Head of European Unit, FBE Management Ltd added; ‘We are pleased that after many years of debate and discussion the CPR has become a reality. The implementation of the CPR in the UK is an important step and we hope that the Guide will provide all those involved with the placing of construction products on the UK market with good understanding of all that is required over the next few months and years.’

Jonathan Griffin, Head of Market Development for Construction Standards at the British Standards Institution concluded; ‘With just over a year to become compliant to the new Construction Products Regulation, many manufacturers need to start applying for their products to be assessed in line with the CE Mark. This new guide provides everyone concerned with a comprehensive understanding of the new regulations – whether it is to understand the terminology, know how to interpret the new regulations, find out about CE marking and Notified Bodies or just wanting reassurance that the transition can be managed efficiently and effectively.’

Copies of the Guidance can be found here
 

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