CableDataSheet, Cable and Wire Technical Consulting Service

What is the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) ?

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) lays down harmonised rules for the marketing of construction products in the EU. The Regulation provides a common technical language to assess the performance of construction products. It ensures that reliable information is available to professionals, public authorities, and consumers, so they can compare the performance of products from different manufacturers in different countries.

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1.   Purpose of this guide and acknowledgments

1.1   The construction industry is facing the most signifi   change for a decade in the way in which construction products are sold in Europe. From 1 July 2013, under the Construction Products Regulation 20111 (CPR), it will become mandatory for manufacturers to apply CE marking to any of their products which are covered
by a harmonised European standard (hEN) or European Technical Assessment (ETA). This is a major change as affi of CE marking under the provisions of the existing Construction Products Directive (CPD) is currently voluntary in the UK. For those already CE marking under the CPD the transition should be straightforward.

This publication is intended as a guide to the implications of CE marking under the CPR for manufacturers, importers, distributors, specifi  s, certifi   and test bodies, and regulatory/enforcement authorities.The Regulation is directly applicable in UK law and neither this guide nor its authors purport to offer any defi   e legal  interpretations.

1.2   This guidance note has been prepared by the Construction Products Association (CPA), the British Board of Agrément (BBA), British Standards Institution (BSI) and FBE Management Limited in consultation with the Trading Standards Institute (TSI).

2.   Key concepts of the CPR

2.1   The CPR builds upon the CPD and aims to break down technical barriers to trade in construction products within the European Economic Area (EEA). To achieve this, the CPR provides for four main elements:

•   a system of harmonised technical specifi
•   an agreed system of conformity assessment for each product family
•   a framework of notifi   bodies
•   CE marking of products.

2.2   The CPR harmonises the methods of assessment and test, the means of declaration of product performance and the system of conformity assessment of construction products, but NOT national building regulations. The choice of required values for the particular intended use is left to the regulators and public / private sector procurers at the national level. However, such required values must be expressed in a consistent manner (technical language) as used in the harmonised technical specifi

2.3   Some elements of the CPR came into force on 24 April 2011.The fi st changes apply to notifi   bodies and technical approval bodies and the way in which they operate. The full legislation relating to manufacturers, importers and distributors comes into force on 1 July 2013, when the CPD will be replaced.

2.4   Appendix A contains a guide to some of the terminology.


3.   Harmonised technical specifications

3.1   Under the CPR, harmonised technical specifications are harmonised European product standards (hENs) established by CEN/CENELEC2 or European Assessment Documents (EADs) produced by the European Organisation for Technical Approvals (EOTA) as the basis for issuing ETAs for products not covered by hENs.
The harmonised technical specifi   for a product defi   EEA-wide methods of assessing and declaring all the performance characteristics required by regulations in any Member State which affect the ability of construction products to meet seven basic requirements for construction works. These cover:

   1. Mechanical resistance and stability   
   2. Safety in case of fi   
   3. Hygiene, health and environment   
   4. Safety and accessibility in use   
   5. Protection against noise   
   6. Energy economy and heat retention   

3.2   7. Sustainable use of natural resources.

The main route to a harmonised technical specifiunder the CPR is for hENs to be drawn up andpublished by CEN/CENELEC. However, if hENs cannot be produced or foreseen within a reasonable period of time, or if a product deviates from the scope of a hEN, an ETA may be issued on the basis of an EAD.

3.3   European product standards also address characteristics not regulated in any Member State, but which  have been included for commercial reasons e.g. aesthetic characteristics. Because of this, all hENs under the CPR include an Informative Annex (termed Annex ZA), the fi st part of which (ZA.1) lists the regulated requirements according to a mandate issued to CEN or CENELEC by the European Commission and the clauses in the standard in which they are addressed. Some of these clauses may in turn refer to separate
supporting documents such as test standards. In this way, Annex ZA.1 in the hEN becomes a checklist for CE marking from which the manufacturer can see all the mandatory requirements for their product and how they can be met.

3.4   The parts of the standard which are not required to fulfi the mandate are termed the voluntary or non- harmonised parts.These are not included in, nor relevant to, Annex ZA.1.

3.5   EADs will have a section serving the same function as Annex ZA.1 in a hEN