One of the tasks of the Regional Civil Engineering Laboratory (LREC), as well as others, is to help the ARA’s sectors of activity linked to construction and public works to have a range of services that will help them implement change processes with a view to continuous improvement of the services provided and quality assurance of construction products.
The aim is thus to contribute to increasing the productivity and competitiveness of businesses, also helping them to comply effectively and efficiently with the legal requirements relating to the marketing and quality control of their products.
In this context and in view of the requirements relating to EC MARCATION of construction products, the LREC, in addition to the provision of laboratory services to carry out different types of tests on various construction products, also provides an advisory service in this area.
This consultancy service is addressed to both the producer of building materials and its user, and may be provided either as a complement to the performance of tests or on its own at the request of any public or private applicant body.
With this consultancy service in the field of CE marking of construction products, the LREC intends to collaborate with the applicants by responding to the questions raised, providing information and clarifications and making recommendations, inter alia, to:
1. To clarify any doubts raised about the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 – Construction Products Regulation;
2. Help to identify whether or not a product is covered by the mandatory CE marking;
3. Clarify the legal procedures necessary for the free movement of a certain construction product within the European Economic Area;
4. Help to identify which harmonised and regulatory characteristics apply to the CE marked product, as well as the types of tests and their standards to be met;
5. Assist in identifying the procedures for the assessment and verification of constancy of performance of a given product, including the types and frequencies of tests required;
6. Inform about the scope of the notified body’s accreditation required to be involved in the conformity assessment and verification of constancy of performance of a given product, taking into account its intended use;
7. Inform about the harmonised European standards applicable to the product, taking into account the intended use of the product;
8. Inform which mandatory technical documentation must be drawn up and kept available by the producer of a CE marked product;
9. Inform, after successful conformity assessment, how to draw up the Declaration of Performance and how to affix the CE marking to the product;
10. Assist in drawing up the technical file of the CE marked product by working with the producer to define the values to be declared for each applicable essential characteristic.
In addition, recommendations and information may be provided on compliance with the legal quality control requirements for construction products not subject to CE marking, with a view to marketing them on Portuguese territory.
Advice in the context of the CE marking may also be extended to the clarification of doubts in the context of quality control and supervision of construction works.
