What is CE Marking?
  CE Marking: Questions and Answers
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CE Marking: Questions and Answers
 
1. What is CE Marking?
 
CE marked products circulate freely within EU, without any technical barrier imposed by individual countries. It is a kind of license to use the product in all works in all EU Member States.
 
2. What does CE Label of a product mean?
 
CE label exhibits that the products meet the essential requirements like safety, health, environment and consumer protection. In other words, the products conform to European technical specifications called harmonized European Norms (hEN). When a manufacturer has proved that the product complies with the relevant hEN, he can affix the CE Marking to the product, its packaging or delivery document.
 
3. What are the benefits of CE Marking?
 

Harmonized European Norms give a manufacturer the possibility to prove the performance of their products on European scale. This is different from  the past situation where performance is to be proven in individual country. Indeed, this will provide an opportunity in cost reduction for product approval.

 
4. What must a producer do for CE Marking?
 
  • The New Approach directive(s) relating to the product is defined.
  • If a product is not covered by the New Approach directive(s), CE Marking is not mandatory.
  • If the New Approach directive(s) covers the product under inquiry, the essential requirements concerning security/safety are determined.
  • hEN relating to the product is assured.
  • A manufacturer manufactures a product with certain performances. To determine which Attestation of Conformity (AoC) System is relevant to him, he must first determine which performances he wants to declare in his CE conformity. If a glass manufacturer thinks he shall make a glass laminate with anti-ballistic performance, he must comply with System-1 for that product. If he doesn’t think it is worthwhile producing laminated safety glass to fire-resistant, anti-explosion or anti-ballistic specifications, he must choose for the system AoC System-3 approach. Thus, a manufacturer who laminates glass has the choice of either AoC System-3 or AoC System-1.
  • Depending on the chosen Attestation of Conformity (AoC) System, application to Notified Body is determined whether it is necessary or not.
  • To be sure about the procedure relating to Attestation of Conformity whether it is completed or not, it is necessary to collaborate with a Notified Body for all tests and conformity criteria.
  • Technical file, together with relevant information and documents are prepared and are made ready for inquiry, if needed.
  • Declaration of Conformity is signed. The CE label and accompanying document information are produced.
 
5. What kind of documents are found in the technical file concerning CE Marking?
 
A manufacturer is responsible for preparing the technical file after he has completed the procedure described in Item 4. The manufacturer, the Notified Body (If he shall draw up a certificate of conformity (EC Certificate of conformity) and his authorized representative keep the copies of the technical file. It can be demonstrated to public authorities when it is needed.
 
In the technical file, the following documents are found.
 
  1. A general description of the product,
  2. Technical drawings of design and production, diagrams and procedures for components, fragment, circuits etc,
  3. The list of the European Norms,
  4. The accepted solutions to comply with the essential safety/security requirements foreseen in the related directive, if the current European Norms do not apply,
  5. Design findings,
  6. Certificate and reports,
  7. Initial Type Testing (ITT) reports,
  8. Quality assurance certificate, and
  9. Declaration of conformity.
 
6. What is the legal basis to affix CE marks to the flat glass and processed glass products intended for use in the construction works?
 
Before 1985 EU Member States imposed their own technical specifications and conformity controls for manufactured products. From 1985 European Community Directives laid down common technical requirements for each product category and procedures for assessing conformity (the New Approach).
 
It is mandatory to affix CE marks to the products covered by some of the New Approach Directives. Flat glass and processed glass products are covered by the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC)
 
7. What are the essential requirements applicable to the Construction Products Directive (CPD)?
 
The followings are applicable to the CPD:
 
  • Mechanical resistance and stability,
  • Safety in case of fire,
  • Hygiene, health and the environment,
  • Safety in use,
  • Protection against noise, and
  • Energy economy and heat retention
 
8. What is the current situation of harmonized European Norms related to flat glass and processed flat glass products?
 
Technical Committee 129 of European Committee for Standardization (CEN/TC/129) prepared the supporting standards that incorporate the product definitions and characteristics, generally accepted values, calculation methods and test methods for product performance in the field of “Glass in Building”. The commission has mandated CEN/TC 129 to produce harmonized European Norms. This mandate (M 135) covers the families as flat glass, channel-shaped glass, insulating glass units, glass blocks and sub-families as basic glass, processed glass, special or safety glass, coated, mirrored glass. Except mirrored glass and glass blocks, hENs related to other glass products have been published.
 
9. What is given in the content of a harmonized European Norm?
 

Flat glass and processed flat glass products being placed on the market within EU must comply with harmonized European Norms. The following topics are contained in the hEN.

  • Details on how the product conforms to the mandate.
  • Details on initial type testing of the product and its characteristics.
  • Details on factory production control.
  • Annex ZA-Provisions of the EU Construction Products Directive.
The following list indicates the hENs and products to which CE Marking started to apply as from Sept. 1st 2006.
 
  • EN 572-9 Basic soda-lime-silicate glass (float glass, drawn sheet glass, patterned glass and wired patterned glass)
  • EN 1096-4 Coated glass
  • EN 1863-2 Heat strengthened soda-lime-silicate glass
  • EN 12150-2 Thermally toughened soda – lime – silicate  safety glass
 
10. Which Attestation of Conformity Systems apply to glass in building?
 
The “Systems of Attestation of Conformity” contained within CPD detail the level of involvement of “Notified Bodies” in the process of showing conformity. Depending on the final intended use of the glass product, a different “System of Attestation” may be applicable. From the available “Systems of Attestation only 1, 3 and 4 apply to “Glass in Building”.
 
System of Attestation Intended Uses
1 Fire Resistance, Bullet Resistance, Explosion Resistance
3 Reaction to Fire, External Fire Performance, “Safety-in-use” risks, Energy Conservation, Noise Reduction
4 Anything else
 
A Notified Body is an organization selected by a member state and is approved by the commission. It is involved in certification and/or inspection and/or testing a product’s intended use. A manufacturer may choose a “Notified Body” from any member state. Also, the manufacturer has a choice as to the number of “Notified Test Bodies” they employ, i.e. one per essential requirement.
 
11. Which characteristics come under the CE System?
 
Under the CE System, a validated value is declared for various product characteristics. If a product is placed on the market without a particular characteristic, this is indicated by way of a No Performance Determined (NPD) for that characteristic.
The following characteristics are defined.
 
  • Safety in the case of fire: fire resistance in accordance with EN 13501-2 (may be an NPD)
  • Safety in the case of fire: reaction to fire in accordance with EN 13501-1 (may be an NPD or Euro class. A1*
  • Safety in the case of fire: external fire behaviour an accordance with EN 13501-5 (may be a NPD)
  • Safety in use/application: bullet-resistant characteristics in accordance with EN 1063 (may be an NPD)
  • Safety in use/application: explosion-resistant characteristics in accordance with EN 13541 (may be an NPD)
  • Safety in use/application: resistance to pendulum body impact in accordance with EN 12600 (may be an NPD)
  • Safety in use/application: burglar resistance to manual attack in accordance with EN 356 (may be an NPD)
  • Safety in use/application: resistance to temperature change and temperature shocks in accordance with the basic glass product standards.
  • Safety in use/application: resistance to wind, snow, permanent or applied load provisionally in accordance with national legislation (may NOT be an NPD)
  • Immediate sound reduction characteristics: Classification in accordance with EN 12758 (may be a NPD)
  • Energy saving and heat reduction: Thermal characteristics in accordance with EN 673, EN 674, EN 675 (may be a NPD)
  • Energy saving and heat reduction: Light transmittance and reflection in accordance with EN 410 (may be a NPD)
  • Energy saving and heat reduction: Solar gain in accordance with EN 410 (may be a NPD)
  • Durability: Determined in the product standard (conformance must be notified)
  • Product-specific characteristics: Determined in the product standard (conformance must be declared)
 
* Products / materials do not require to be tested for reaction to fire (e.g. Products/materials of classes A1 according to Commission Decision 96/603/EC, as amended 2000/605/EC).
 
12. Shall I do something for CE Marking as a merchant?
 
Merchants
 

Any glass product supplied by subsidiary company of Žižecam will have all the necessary information without the need for further validation. Basic glass (float, patterned glass, wired patterned glass), processed glass, safety glass and coated glass will be supplied with all appropriate information. However, a stock customer must take all precautions for the following points and pay attention to the published procedure (PRO-CE-009E).

 
  • The customer is allowed to use CE Marking without prior permission of Trakya Cam, if the customer does not cut down to the dimensions being required either for installation or processing into a final product e.g. insulating glass units, thermally toughened safety glass, of those dimensions.
  • The customer is responsible of complying with the relevant articles of EN 572-8, if the customer cuts down the product to the dimensions being required either for installation or processing into a final product e.g. insulating glass units, thermally toughened safety glass, of those dimensions. The customer should prepare FPC plan in agreement with Table A.7 of EN 572-9 and keep it in updated form continuously. FPC should be kept daily and ready for any claim by the Customer.
 
Useful References
 

http://www.euroconform.com/
CE Mark, CE Marking and CE Certification

 

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/construction/internal/dangsub/dangmain_en.htm

 

http://www.gepvp.be/
European Association of Flat Glass

 
CE Guide, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Publication No. 2004-13