CE Marking

Below is an introduction to the topic of CE Marking. You can also search for your specific topic using the Search box at the top of the page or click on any of the following keywords and phrases: .CE Marking; CPD; CPR; Harmonised standards; BS EN 1090-1

The Construction Products Directive (CPD)

CE Marking of construction products was introduced in the Construction Products Directive (CPD) in 1988. The CPD is a European Directive that seeks to remove barriers to trade and applies to all construction products permanently incorporated in to ‘construction works’. This includes steel products such as steel sections, bolts, welding consumables and fabricated steel components that are used in building, bridges, highways or other civil engineering projects.

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR)

The CPD is enforced in the UK through the Construction Products Regulations (CPR) which describes two ways of complying with the regulations. The first is by CE Marking and the second is by supplying when asked, Trading Standards Officers in England, Wales and Scotland and Environmental Officers in Northern Ireland, all the information the manufacturer has on the product to enable the authorities to satisfy themselves that the product complies with the regulations. Put simply if the product is CE marked there is a presumption that it satisfies the regulations and the CPD, if the product is not CE Marked the onus is on the manufacturer or supplier to prove that it does satisfy the regulations.

The two methods of complying with the CPD given in the CPR mean that CE Marking is not mandatory in the UK, although CE Marking is expected to be the most common approach of compliance with the CPD.

Harmonised standards

CE Marking is a declaration by the manufacturer that the product meets certain public safety requirements. The public safety requirements are a set of Essential Characteristics that each product must satisfy and these characteristics are given in the product’s harmonised standard. For steel structures the main harmonised standards are:

• Steel sections and plate – BS EN 10025-1
• Hollow sections – BS EN 10219- 1 and BS EN 10210-1
• Pre-loadable bolts – BS EN 14399-1
• Non-preloadable bolts- BS EN 15048-1
• Fabricated steel – BS EN 1090-1

CE Marking of Structural Steelwork

The standard that covers CE Marking of structural steelwork is BS EN 1090-1. This standard has been accepted by member states and will be published in 2009. Steel components can be CE Marked with reference to BS EN 1090-1 as soon as it is listed in the OJ and the date of applicability given on the NANDO website (See http://ec.europe.eu/enterprise/newapproach/nando/index,cfm?useaction=cpd.hs ) has passed. It is anticipated that the standard will come in to force early in 2010. After a transition period of two years, CE Marking will become mandatory in most European Countries sometime early in 2012.

Because steel components are “safety critical”, CE Marking is not allowed unless the Factory Production Control (FPC) system under which they are produced has been assessed by a suitable certification body that has been approved to the European Commission.

Practical guidance on the routes to achieving a certified FPC system can be found in the BCSA leaflet 'Routes to CE Marking Certification for Steelworks Contractors'. A more comprehensive explanation of the CE Marking process for structural steelwork is given in the ‘Guide to the CE Marking of Structural Steelwork’.

Further detailed information is given in:

BCSA Leaflet 'Routes to CE Marking Certification for Steelworks Contractors'

Guide to the CE Marking of Structural Steelwork, BCSA Publication No. 46/08.

CE Marking - Frequently Asked Questions