2003/728/EC: Commission Decision of 3 October 2003 on the procedure for attesting the conformity of construction products pursuant to Article 20(2) of Council Directive 89/106/EEC as regards metal frame building kits, concrete frame building kits, prefabricated building units, cold storage room kits and rock-fall protection kits (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2003) 3452)
Date: 2003-10-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: building industry, building materials, quality control of industrial products, quality label

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Official Journal of the European Union

14.10.2003

COMMISSION DECISION

of 3 October 2003

on the procedure for attesting the conformity of construction products pursuant to Article 20(2)
of Council Directive 89/106/EEC as regards metal frame building kits, concrete frame building kits,
prefabricated building units, cold storage room kits and rock-fall protection kits

(notified under document number C(2003) 3452)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2003/728/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21
December 1988 on the approximation of laws, regulations and
administrative provisions of
the Member States relating to
construction products (1), as amended by Directive 93/68/
EEC (2), and in particular Article 13(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

this means that

The Commission is required to select, between the two
procedures under Article 13(3) of Directive 89/106/EEC
for attesting the conformity of a product,
the least
consistent with safety.
onerous possible procedure
Whereas
is necessary to decide
it
whether, for a given product or family of products, the
existence of a factory production control system under
the responsibility of the manufacturer is a necessary and
sufficient condition for an attestation of conformity, or
whether,
for reasons related to compliance with the
criteria mentioned in Article 13(4), the intervention of
an approved certification body is required.

the procedure thus deter-
Article 13(4) requires that
mined shall be indicated in the mandates and in the
technical
is desirable to
define the concept of products or family of products as
used in the mandates and in the technical specifications.

specifications. Therefore,

it

The two procedures provided for in Article 13(3) are
described in detail in Annex III to Directive 89/106/EEC.
It is necessary therefore to specify clearly the methods
by which the two procedures shall be implemented, by
reference to Annex III, for each product or family of
products, since Annex III gives preference to certain
systems.

The procedure referred to in Article 13(3)(a) corresponds
to the systems set out in the first possibility, without
continuous surveillance, and the second and third possi-

bilities of Annex III(2)(ii). The procedure referred to in
Article 13(3)(b) corresponds to the systems set out in
Annex III(2)(i), and in the first possibility, with contin-
uous surveillance, of III(2)(ii).

(5)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accor-
dance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on
Construction,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The products and families of products set out in Annex I shall
have their conformity attested by a procedure whereby, in addi-
tion to a factory production control system operated by the
manufacturer, an approved certification body is involved in
assessment and surveillance of the production control and the
product itself.

Article 2

The procedure for attesting conformity as set out in Annex II
shall be indicated in the mandates for Guidelines for European
technical approvals.

Article 3

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 3 October 2003.

For the Commission

Erkki LIIKANEN

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989, p. 12.
(2) OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1.

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ANNEX I

1. Metal frame building kits

This Decision covers those industrially prepared kits, marketed as a building, that are made of predesigned and prefabri-
cated components intended for production in series. This Decision covers only those kits for which the minimum
requirements defined below are met. Partial kits falling below these minimum requirements are outside the scope of this
Decision. The minimum requirements comprise all of the following: the structural elements of the building, the connec-
tion of the building to the substructure and the specification of the essential components of the external envelope as
thermal insulation, cladding, roof covering, internal lining, windows and external doors in so far as they are necessary
for the satisfaction of the essential requirements applied to the building.

Although some components may be prepared in different factories, only the final kit for delivery, and not the different
components, are considered by this Decision.

— for use in building works

2. Concrete frame building kits

This Decision covers those industrially prepared kits, marketed as a building, that are made of predesigned and prefabri-
cated components intended for production in series. This Decision covers only those kits for which the minimum
requirements defined below are met. Partial kits falling below these minimum requirements are outside the scope of this
Decision. The minimum requirements comprise all of the following: the structural elements of the building, the connec-
tion of the building to the substructure and the specification of the essential components of the external envelope as
thermal insulation, cladding, roof covering, internal lining, windows and external doors in so far as they are necessary
for the satisfaction of the essential requirements applied to the building.

Although some components may be prepared in different factories, only the final kit for delivery, and not the different
components, are considered by this Decision.

— for use in building works

3. Prefabricated building units

This Decision covers prefabricated building units capable of being transported to site in self-contained or volumetric
format and rapidly providing a weatherproof envelope, possibly subject to final weatherproofing, jointing between units,
connection to services and any foundation connections.

Although some components may be prepared in different factories, only the final kit for delivery, and not the different
components, are considered by this Decision.

— for use in building works

4. Cold storage room kits

This Decision covers prefabricated cold storage room kits for installation inside an existing building or at least protected
from external climate exposure, i.e. the cold storage room kits are not exposed to an external climate. The assembled kits
do not contribute to the load-bearing capacity of the works, but a load-bearing supporting system may be foreseen, to
support the whole assembled kit or parts of it. The technical equipment (e.g. cooling systems) is excluded.

Although some components may be prepared in different factories, only the final kit for delivery, and not the different
components, are considered by this Decision.

— for use in building works

5. Rock-fall protection kits

This Decision covers rock-fall protection kits consisting of a single or multiple net or mesh or similar, supported by a
metallic or wooden structure (e.g. metal posts) and, possibly, cables.

Although some components may be prepared in different factories, only the final kit for delivery, and not the different
components, are considered by this Decision.

— for use in civil engineering works

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ANNEX II

Systems of attestation of conformity

For the product(s) and intended use(s) listed below, EOTA is requested to specify the following system(s) of attestation of
conformity in the relevant guideline for European technical approvals:

Product(s)
(as defined in Annex I)

Intended use(s)

Level(s) or class(es) (reaction to
fire)

Attestation of conformity
system(s)

Metal frame building kits

In building works

Any

Concrete frame building kits

Prefabricated building units

Cold storage room kits

Rockfall protection kits

In civil engineering works

Any

System 1: see Directive 89/106/EEC Annex III.2.(i), without audit-testing of samples.

1

1

The specification for the system should be such that it can be implemented even where performance does not need to
be determined for a certain characteristic, because at least one Member State has no legal requirement at all for such
characteristic (see Article 2(1) of Directive 89/106/EEC and, where applicable, clause 1.2.3 of the interpretative docu-
ment).

In those cases the verification of such a characteristic must not be imposed on the manufacturer if he does not wish to
declare the performance of the product in that respect.