The European product approval standards for voice alarm equipment formulated in 2008 became enforceable on 1 April 2011, under the Construction Products Directive (CPD). Addressing confusion within the industry as to whether products need to comply with EN54 standards, RH Consulting investigated the issue in order to determine the origins of standards, why they were created and the legal obligations they bring.
The company’s findings, including references to all of the appropriate European legislation, have been published in a White Paper that is freely downloadable from the RH Consulting website.
‘We felt that it was crucial to our industry to clarify what EN 54 and the CPD really mean for manufacturers, consultants and integrators in terms of compliance,’ states RH Consulting’s Lauren Rogers. ‘Many people think it means that every single product specified as part of a voice alarm system has to obtain EN54 compliance. However, our research has proved that there are other ways of complying with the CPD that don’t require each individual product to be EN54 marked; the most relevant for our business is by using a ‘kit’ system.’
A ‘kit’ is defined as an assembly of non type-tested components that together comprise a system. More details on kits can be found in the white paper.
‘It is important to note that this is not about manufacturers trying to avoid their responsibilities by not getting their equipment tested,’ adds RH Consulting partner, Roland Hemming. ‘On the contrary, in large, complex, high-power projects such as stadia, transport hubs and conference centres, the use of a bespoke kit system will actually reduce risk as you are free to use equipment that is appropriate for the task in hand rather than being limited to using inappropriate type-tested product that is not up to the job. The aim of the white paper is to clearly define how the law relates to voice alarm systems and the steps that manufacturers, consultants and integrators need to take in order to comply with law and build safe systems.’
The White Paper’s conclusion has already gained support from a number of respected industry consultants as well as the chair of the EN54 committee and the chair of the entire European working group above that. Plasa has also stated that it concurs with the report: ‘This document clearly sets out that a kit system approach is an acceptable and legal method for installing a voice alarm system within the EEA,’ states Technical Resources Manager, Ron Bonner, who is responsible for technical support and standards advice at Plasa. ‘Plasa will support its members who wish to provide kit systems for that purpose.’
For consultants and manufacturers wishing to adopt the kit system approach for their projects, sample wording has been provided at the end of the White Paper for use in their project documentation.
More: www.rhconsulting.eu
