REGULATION (EU) NO 305/2011 ON STRUCTURAL, BUILDING MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS

The European Union (EU) Regulation No. 305/2011 on construction materials came into force on July 1, 2013. This document replaced EEC Directive 89/106 (Construction Products Directive – CPD). Regulation 305/2011/EC (89/106/EEC) establishes harmonized requirements and conditions for the marketing of construction products.

The updated regulation establishes certain testing and evaluation methods for construction equipment and products.

Products that have been placed on the European Union market before 1 July this year will be considered compliant with Regulation 305/2011(89/106/EEC) on the basis of documents that meet the requirements of Directive 89/106/EEC.

Regulation 305/2011/EC (89/106/EEC), issued by the legislative bodies of the European Union, aims to simplify and clarify the existing “framework” for the placement of construction products and materials in the markets of the European Economic Area.

Also regulation 305/2011/EC (89/106/EEC) in its text provides further clarification of the concept of CE marking and its use, introduces simplified procedures that reduce the costs incurred by manufacturers, importers and distributors, in particular small and medium-sized businesses.

The new Construction Products Regulation 305/2011/EC (89/106/EEC) establishes new and stricter criteria for the notified authorized bodies involved in the assessment and inspection of construction products, thus increasing the credibility and reliability of the system as a whole.

Many European directives, including the CPD (89/106/EEC), are now outdated and therefore the new Regulation (EU) No 305/201 aims to modernize and optimize the requirements of the New Approach in the EU market.

Summary and New Rules of the EU Construction Products Regulation

Regulation 305/2011/EC (89/106/EEC) describes some basic new provisions relating to construction products:

• CE marking requirements have been clarified: The CE marking is affixed to construction products for which the manufacturer has prepared a Declaration of Performance. By affixing the CE marking to construction products, manufacturers indicate that they are taking responsibility for the conformity of that product with the declared activities of their company.
• A simplified procedure has been implemented to reduce the costs incurred by businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones. A stricter responsibility has been introduced for the precisely specified organization to evaluate the company’s activities in relation to the production of construction products, as well as verifying that the products are in compliance with certain requirements at all times.

The main provisions of the New Construction Products Regulation

The most important provisions of the new regulation are:

1) Section 7 – making a declaration of performance.

The declaration must be numbered in accordance with the number of the product, its type, family.

2) Article 37 – Simplified procedures for small businesses

When manufacturers use these simplified procedures, they must also demonstrate compliance of construction products, construction materials, and above all, compliance with safety standards.

3) Section 10 – Communication with supervisory authorities

The Member States of the European Union should provide certain information on liaison with the authorities responsible for building products. These authorities shall be in a position to carry out their tasks of avoiding conflicts of interest, in particular with regard to the CE marking procedure.

4) General – Environment and safety

Safety aspects with regard to the environment refer mainly to;

• The use of construction products throughout their life cycle.
• Hazardous substances used in manufacturing.

Information about the content of hazardous substances is primarily limited to substances included in Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH);

In addition, according to Article 67, the European Commission is considering the need to provide information on the content of hazardous substances in construction products, materials, products by April 25, 2014. As a result, the obligation to provide information with other substances, in particular with a focus on health, safety and recycling, will continue.

Definition and scope of regulation 305/2011

“Construction products” is defined as: any products that are manufactured and placed on the market in the European Union in the case of permanent use during construction work or parts thereof, which have an impact on the basic requirements in their implementation.