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Safety watchdog warns over uncertified emergency exit doors
Will Mann Editor
Some emergency exit doors are being supplied without third-party certification (Image: DHF)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has warned that external panic or emergency exit door sets are being supplied to the construction market without the necessary third-party certification.
The Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) and the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) said the OPSS had informed them that they were aware of cases where door sets had been supplied, conformity marked against the industry standard EN 14351-1:2006+A2:2016, but not third-party certified.
“There is concern that some economic operators may not be fully aware of the conformity marking requirements for these products,” said Michael Skelding, DHF’s general manager and secretary.
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“The requirement for third-party certification arises when an external door set has either or both of the following special characteristics: that it is a panic or emergency exit (fitted with appropriate hardware); or that it is fire-resisting.
“Third-party certification must be obtained from an EU-notified certification body (for CE marking) or a UK-approved certification body (for UKCA marking). The certification body will issue a Certificate of Constancy of Performance, which the manufacturer (or person responsible for placing the product on the market) must retain in their technical file for the product.”
The testing and certification required for conformity marking (CE or UKCA) is specified in the Annex Z of EN 14351-1:2006+A2:2016, the DHF added.
“To conformity mark an external door set that is neither fire-resisting nor an emergency or panic exit, no third-party certification is required,” the federation explained. “Other performance characteristics, such as watertightness and resistance to wind load, will typically require third-party testing from a notified or approved test body, but not third-party certification.”
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