Objective

  1. The overall objective of the proposed amendment is to ensure that the requirements of the Building Regulations and the guidance in Approved Document B do not unduly prevent construction products tested by the European fire test methods being used in England & Wales. This means not only adopting the proposed new test methods within the guidance but also the new European classification system associated with them.
  2. Meeting this overall objective will also mean improved harmonisation with the Building Standards in Scotland which have already been amended to incorporate the new test and classification methods.

The issue

  1. The Building Regulations 2000 (as amended) apply to most building work in England & Wales and are made principally to ensure the health and safety of people in and around buildings. The guidance given in Approved Documents has been approved by the Secretary of State as giving methods that, if followed, will show compliance with the statutory functional requirement. Approved Document B provides guidance on the fire safety aspects of the Regulations for the completed building. It does not address the risk of fire during the construction work, which is covered by the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.
  2. The amendment of Requirement B2 and the Approved Document will ensure that the requirements of the Building Regulations and the guidance in Approved Document B do not unduly prevent construction products tested by the new European fire test methods being used in England & Wales, as required under the Construction Products Directive (CPD).
  3. In the UK, the CPD was implemented by the Construction Products Regulations (CPR), which came into force on 27 December 1991.
  4. A package of new European fire resistance standards prepared in CEN TC 127 (a European Technical Committee dealing with Fire Safety in Buildings) has been agreed by CEN (European standards organisation) members as European Standards and are being implemented, in the case of the UK, as BS ENs. All of the standards that have recently been published, along with those awaiting approval and publication, are referenced in the European amendment document.
  5. It has been recognised that the methodology embodied in the new European tests, while similar in general principle, will significantly affect the results achieved by many products tested under the current British Standard regime. In particular, the new standards are more severe on some currently acceptable products and constructions. This is partially due to the introduction of the plate thermocouple to measure fire resistance furnace temperature but also to procedural and other changes from current testing practice.
  6. The use of the plate thermocouple, for measuring temperature in the test furnace, is a key difference between the existing British fire resistance test and the new harmonised European test. Fire resistance furnaces across Europe come in many shapes and sizes, and burn a variety of fuels. This can lead to differing results, even when the same test is being used.
  7. Plate thermocouples have a larger surface area exposed to the furnace compared with conventional "point" thermocouples. They are insulated from the test specimen and are less affected by convected heat or other factors connected with the furnace construction. The change to plate thermocouples has made it much easier to achieve consistent test results on the wide variety of furnaces in use in European countries.
  8. To assist manufacturers of construction products in adapting to the new test methods, in support of the CPD and applying the CE Marking, the European Commission proposes to introduce them in three stages:

From a date, which is dependant upon the availability of each of the harmonised product standards, and their supporting test methods and classification document, all national fire regulations and supporting technical documents (in this case Part B) must recognise the standards of fire performance in terms of the new European tests, whilst also retaining their existing national test specifications (known specifically as the period of co-existence).

A number of years after this, conflicting national test methods (in this case probably much of the BS 476 series) must be withdrawn by the relevant National Standards organisation (in this case the British Standards Institution). The European Commission would then expect all new products (which are covered by the CPD) to have been tested and classified in accordance with the new harmonised standards. However products already in the supply chain will be considered to have been 'placed on the market' and will not have to be removed after the period of co-existance.

The European Commission propose that a number of years after this there will be a requirement that only products tested to the new harmonised standards can be placed on the market.

  1. For the purposes of CE Marking, the date of the transition period has now effectively begun for a few of the harmonised product standards (Stage 1), and the effective overall transition period will have a duration of at least three to four years while the rest of the harmonised product standards and supporting documents are published (Stage 2). In this transition period it will be possible to use products tested either by the existing British Standards or by the new European harmonised fire tests and therefore during this time both test regimes must be recognised by the Approved Document.
  2. While the UK is fully supportive of the CPD and what it is trying to achieve, it has not made CE marking mandatory. However, it is important to understand that, because of the functional nature of the Building Regulations for England & Wales, the new European fire test and classification methods can already be accommodated, as long as compliance with the specific requirements in the Regulations can be shown.

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