Brand test required

Brand test required

New Responsibility and Liability for Manufacturers

Uncontrolled fires involving building materials and construction products can lead to unpredictable, complex hazards. Preventive fire protection measures are therefore of paramount importance. This primarily includes ensuring the highest possible fire resistance of the materials used. Risk potentials – such as economic damage, safety hazards, and liability – are thus reduced. Test documents and expert reports also support market access and marketing. Therefore, it is worthwhile to subject construction products to systematic fire protection testing by a specialized material testing institute.

The MPA Dresden is one of the most important fire testing centers in Europe. In a dedicated research project, the development of a unique multifunctional test stand in Europe for demonstrating fire behavior was realized. This allows for particularly reliable fire protection tests. Globally, especially strict regulations apply regarding fire safety.

The European Construction Products Regulation (CPR), which came into force on April 24, 2011, is already casting its shadow ahead. The transition period until July 1, 2013, provides manufacturers with some time, but this should be used for preventive measures, such as consulting or fire testing at material testing institutes. Rigid implementation of this regulation is expected. A key innovation is the "Declaration of Performance" required from the manufacturer, with which they assume responsibility and liability for the conformity of the construction product with the declared performance. Many companies are not yet aware of the responsibilities this entails.

The MPA Dresden is active in both active and passive fire protection and is accredited as a testing laboratory. As a competent testing facility, MPA Dresden offers fire protection technical tests and issues corresponding test documents and expert reports. "It has also become apparent that small and medium-sized manufacturers are hardly able to keep track of the applicable European regulations and urgently need support," explains Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Hübler from MPA Dresden, a unique competence center for fire protection. This is especially true for structural fire protection as a safety-relevant property of construction products.

Further information on structural fire protection can be found at: www.mpa-dresden.de    MPA Dresden GmbH - Fuchsmühlenweg 6 F - 09599 Freiberg Phone: +49 (0) 37 31 - 2 03 93-0 - Fax: +49 (0) 37 31 - 2 03 93-110www.mpa-dresden.de - info@mpa-dresden.de