Construction Products Directive

From July 2013, CE MARKING of construction products covered by harmonised European Standards is mandatory. Manufacturers, importers and distributors have new obligations and responsibilities when placing a construction product on the market. Designers, specifiers and builders must be aware and understand the new requirements on construction products.

The Construction Products Directive (CPD), as an internal market Directive, aims to overcome the technical barriers to trade which arise where different countries in Europe have different standards, testing and labelling approaches for the same construction products.

From 1 July 2013, manufacturers of construction products which are covered by harmonised European product standards (hens) will be required, when placing a product on the market, to make a Declaration of Performance (DoP) for the product, and affix the CE mark.

If an importer places a product on the market under his trade name, or modifies a product, then he will be treated as the manufacturer.

If a distributor places a product on the market under his trade name, or modifies a product, then he will be treated as the manufacturer.

Clients, specifiers, designers and builders etc should, when drawing up specifications, refer to the harmonised technical specifications and specifically to the requirements of individual characteristics when necessary.

Article 40 of the Construction Products Regulation requires each Member State to designate a notifying authority that shall be responsible for setting up and carrying out the necessary procedures for the assessment and notification of the bodies to be authorised to carry out third-party tasks in the process of assessment and verification of constancy of performance for the purposes of the Construction Products Regulation, and for the monitoring of notified bodies, including their compliance with the provisions of Article 43.  In the case of Ireland, the Department for the Environment, Community and Local Government is the designated notifying authority under the Construction Products Regulation.