GGF’s New Resource for CE Marking
16th October 2012

With CE Marking becoming compulsory from 1st July 2013, the Glass and Glazing Federation has set up a range of comprehensive support and guidance online and offline services to ensure all GGF Members will comply with the incoming legislation.

The Construction Products Directive (CPD) was implemented in 1989, this has been replaced by the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). The CPR was officially published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 4th April 2011 and will come into full force on 1st July 2013.

The CPR is enforceable across the entire European Union, member states do not have the option to opt-out which was the case with the CPD and therefore from the 1st July 2013 all construction products covered by a harmonised European Standard (hEN), that is one with an Annex ZA, will need to have a Declaration of Performance (DoP) made and be CE marked in accordance with the requirements of the hEN covering that product when placed on the market.

In response to the publication of the CPR, the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) has developed the ‘Route to CE Marking’ micro-site exclusively for GGF Members. These routes take the form of flowcharts for the various product types and specifications, with accompanying explanatory documents intended to guide GGF Members through the CE Marking maze.

By reviewing the flowcharts, GGF Members will be able to:

Establish where they are in terms of the process, what information, in particular with reference to Initial Type Testing (ITT), they already have.

What extra product testing or information is needed and what other actions they need to complete, to enable them to make a legal DoP and CE Mark their products.

Will be able to work their way through the CPR/CE Marking maze, make their declarations and avoid any potential prosecutions.

The new “Route to CE Marking” micro-site is housed within the Technical section of the GGF Website www.ggf.org.uk.

The new micro-site also includes the following sections:
A list of the harmonised European Norms (standards) for products that will require CE Marking.
A Glossary of Terms to help Members fully understand the terminology
A Frequently Asked Questions section containing 14 key questions that Members have asked at GGF Members meetings.

As well as full access to the “Route to CE Marking” micro-site, the GGF is also offering Members:
An exclusive Technical Helpline to call and discuss CE Marking with the GGF’s Technical Team
A 24/7 email help service direct to the GGF Technical Team.

A new Technical Bulletin service with breaking technical news emailed direct to Members and available 24/7 on the Members Area of the GGF website.

All Members will also be invited to attend the GGF’s regular Regional, Group and Technical meetings where CE Marking and other Technical issues will be explained and discussed in more detail.

On the support and guidance offered, Giles Willson, GGF Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Technical Affairs commented:

“From 1 July 2013, with the full implementation of the Construction Products Regulation, it will be a legal requirement for manufacturers of construction products covered by a harmonised European Standard, to ensure their products have a Declaration of Performance against the essential characteristics and apply CE Marking. The GGF has been proactively working for many years with the development of the harmonised European Standards and we are pleased to have now developed online and offline guidance and support to assist our Members to comply so they can continue to trade legally.”

Only GGF Members have access to the micro-site via a log in to the GGF Members Area on www.ggf.org.uk. Non-Members can visit the new “Route to CE Marking” homepage and see read the FAQs but will not be able to access the micro-site. If you are not a GGF Member you can contact the GGF and make an enquiry to join via the GGF website homepage.