Under the Construction Products Regulations (CPR), from 1st July 2013 it is a legal requirement for any permanent fixed road traffic sign that is going to be sold to have the CE mark.
This regulation has been in place for many years in other parts of Europe, but in the UK, a manufacturer has been able to self-certify. However, now they are legally obliged to comply with the requirements.
Who will be affected?
This will new regulation will affect the manufacturers, specifiers, buyers and distributors/re-sellers.
For manufacturers to be able to apply the CE mark to its products they will have to go through an audit and testing process to show that they are compliant with Annex ZA of the applicable European standard BSEN 12899:2007. They also have to be accredited with a certificate from a notified body such as SGS or BSI. All components used to manufacture the product must have the CE mark including materials, sign faces and finished signs.
Specifiers and Buyers must be aware of the CPR and obtain a declaration of performance and/or conformity from the manufacturer or distributor.
Who is responsible for applying the CE label?
For Distributors, the Construction Products Regulations state that:
“Under this situation the original manufacturer is acting as a sub-contractor and produces products directly for the purchasing company under contract. This contract will ensure that the products meet the declared characteristics, are produced under a FPC system with surveillance that is in conformity with the Annex ZA of the harmonised European standard and gives authorisation to the purchasing company to use the original manufacturer’s test results. Under the CPR, the purchasing company is taking on the role of the manufacturer and part of this responsibility may require them to carry out sample testing to ensure conformity of the product as part of their own Quality Assurance system plus a product specific Quality Control plan within their warehouse.”
A product's compliance
Not only does this affect signs on the highways and roads, but the new regulation will affect directional signs, including: Airport car parks, service stations, supermarket car parks, retail outlets and any public car park.
Section 64 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (RTRA) defines a traffic sign as:
“Any object or device for conveying, to traffic on roads or any specified class of traffic, warnings, information, requirements, restrictions or prohibitions of any description.”
CE marking is a key indicator of a products compliance with the EU legislation and permits the free movement of products within the European market. When a manufacturer affixes the CE marking on a product they are declaring, on their responsibility, conformity with all the legal requirements to achieve CE marking. They are therefore ensuring validity or that to be sold throughout the EEA, the 27 member states of the EU and European Free Trade Association countries including, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Turkey. This also applies to products made in third countries which are sold in the EU and Turkey.
The signs that we sell at The Workplace Depot, have the CE marking accredited on all of our road signs.
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