In general terms, the CE mark is a familiar part of life, more common now than the British kitemark that used to denote a safe and reliable product from generally cheaper and potentially dangerous imitations. Look on any new electrical appliance or children’s toy and you’ll see the CE mark somewhere on it. But would you ever bother looking for it before you made your purchase?
If a non-CE marked product caused harm to an adult or child, you can bet the retailer would be hauled over the coals for allowing the uncertified product to make it onto the shelf and, understandably, the majority are not willing to flout the law and risk personal safety in this way. This is the real benefit of the CE mark and something that should be embraced by the whole trade.
Unfortunately, in the construction trade there is often a distinct gap between the good intentions of the specifier and the final purchasing decision made by the contractor – particularly where lower costs are involved. This can often be explained by the huge amount of legislation that applies to the trade and the lack of officials capable of policing it all. In the case of CE marking on wood-based panels, the whole situation becomes even more difficult to control.
Firstly, the UK government decided it will not be compulsory to stamp every board with a CE mark to show clearly and explicitly that it is being sold as meeting the Construction Products Directive. The ability to instantly identify CE marked products on-site becomes impossible and any inspection has to rely on tying up paperwork with the panels used.
Codes and numbers
Secondly, CE certification is split into different levels to distinguish products that are fit for use in a structural application and those that are not. Both products can be CE marked, but only those of the level of 2+ or greater can legally be used structurally. Confusing matters further, the way this distinction is explained in the officially displayed description provides no obvious clue that the 2+ product can be used for structural purposes or that the grades below cannot. All you get are codes and number references that mean nothing to the average guy working on a construction project.
Not surprisingly, the feedback from the construction sector is one of apathy and confusion. Many merchants are aware that they need to buy CE panels and are requesting them, but this is not being demanded by the end-users to a greater extent. From what we can tell the panels manufacturers, trade associations and support media have done a good job in educating the direct supply chain partners of what CE marking is all about, but unfortunately the education process is not yet making enough inroads into the construction end-users for us to call the process a success.
Even recently we have seen Far Eastern plywood with no CE accreditation being used as a floor structure simply because it was the usual way the builder worked. Officially this is something the builder, merchant and original materials supplier could be prosecuted for if they did not take sufficient steps to ensure the panels were sold for non-structural use. One problem is how you establish if sufficient steps were taken in the first place to prevent use in a structural application. Then, if you find out that a product is being used illegally by your customer, you have the dilemma of what to do. I can’t imagine any customer being grateful for his supplier shopping him to the appropriate authorities but if he doesn’t, who will, when the chances of getting caught by random official inspection seem so slim?
Many forward thinking importers have decided to try to add some common sense and practicality by stamping their products with the CE mark, but also naming the structural grade product as CE Structural 2+. Also, where they have products that may have historically been used for structural purposes and no longer meet the CPD requirements, they state in sales documentation that it is not suitable for structural use. The hope is that others will follow suit to allow end-users to recognise the right product easily and restrict sharp practice by those who would use confusion and uncertainty to hide their illegal and potentially dangerous activities.
Some of these companies have maintained their long-term campaign to promote the BS 5268-2 certification that continues to certify wood-based panels for structural use in the UK and with the confusion surrounding CE marking, it’s not hard to see why.
Without active policing of the directive we should not expect things to change quickly in terms of construction demand and it will be the responsibility of the suppliers to only make available the legally appropriate materials. Maybe when we get the first high profile prosecution, things will harden up, but until then it will be a slow process of education. With CE 2+ Far Eastern, Brazilian and Finnish plywoods all becoming available by the start of 2005, the availability should start to make the CE 2+ issue more commonplace, but only if it is specified in a clear, simple and consistent manner.
