CE Marking / BS EN 1090

[Welderpaul]

It will be interesting to see how it all goes with new NSSS 7th edition.

Indeed!

I heard about the 3rd party WQMS coming in, and it wasn't unexpected that post Grenfell every fabricator is now expected to intumes. every stick of steel that leaves the place.(Not that steelwork was a factor in the fire whatsoever of course...?)

Very knee-jerk. Blather everything in intumescent irrelevent of where its going.

And another little push for us that are CE Ex3 to be BCSA members I see.

 

[Mid Wales welder]

Indeed!

I heard about the 3rd party WQMS coming in, and it wasn't unexpected that post Grenfell every fabricator is now expected to intumes. every stick of steel that leaves the place.(Not that steelwork was a factor in the fire whatsoever of course...?)

Very knee-jerk. Blather everything in intumescent irrelevent of where its going.

And another little push for us that are CE Ex3 to be BCSA members I see.

Still not sure if the 3834 will be audited separately of if it will just run with the 1090 audit, whatever the case it will probably cost more/take longer.
There is obviously the need for extra fire protection, but yes it is a bit knee jerk, seems like it’s just been put in as a ‘that’ll do’ rather than actually being thought about. Again, more cost added onto everything.
It wouldn’t surprise me if when we go over to UKCA that it will be a requirement (if not official then definitely customer driven) to be a BCSA member. Definitely some changes ahead over the next few years.

 

[davidjohnperry]

My welding and fab qualification are awarded from that body. I'll be honest I'm not in the loop with this stuff. I find it interesting though. I think a few members in our office are members but again I'm not sure. Is it worth me being a member to stay in the loop or is ignorance bliss I'm just a shop employee and just bang out work

 

[Munkul]

So basically you can still do stuff to EN 1090 without 3834, but if you need to do it to NSSS spec you need 3834 and some paint...

 

[Mid Wales welder]

My welding and fab qualification are awarded from that body. I'll be honest I'm not in the loop with this stuff. I find it interesting though. I think a few members in our office are members but again I'm not sure. Is it worth me being a member to stay in the loop or is ignorance bliss I'm just a shop employee and just bang out work

It’s the company that would be a member, not the individual https://www.steelconstruction.org/join-bcsa/membership-categories/

 

[Mid Wales welder]

So basically you can still do stuff to EN 1090 without 3834, but if you need to do it to NSSS spec you need 3834 and some paint...

3834 will be mandatory for structural steel for the following reasons

In Iso 1090-2 para 7 stipulates the requirement for 3834
So if at the moment your reference for structural inspection refers to 1090 then 3834 should be in place and would be audited within a companies 1090 audit.
However, if the loophole has been exploited by using NSSS as a reference 3834 wasnt a requirement until the new edition has been announced and now you would have to display a 3834 certification. This will most likely be audited along with EN1090 and run along side it.
The thing I’m not sure about is if NSSS is not referenced, then will a company have to certified to 3834 separately or not.

 

[davidjohnperry]

@Mid Wales welder is it worth me wanting to be a member you seem to have lots of in depth knowledge regards to the BCSA is worth a individual knowing more about it more designed for companys

 

[Welderpaul]

@Mid Wales welder is it worth me wanting to be a member you seem to have lots of in depth knowledge regards to the BCSA is worth a individual knowing more about it more designed for companys

No. It's a fortune to be a member, even at a basic level. Importantly you would need to have BS1090 CE Marking accreditation in order to join BCSA.

When CE Marking came out, BCSA spat every member out until they obtained it.

 

[Mid Wales welder]

@Mid Wales welder is it worth me wanting to be a member you seem to have lots of in depth knowledge regards to the BCSA is worth a individual knowing more about it more designed for companys

It’s really not worth it. It’s like a club for big boys (no offence meant by that at all) if you aren’t in it then nobody wants to play with you and you don’t get the big jobs. The only reason I know anything about this (and I don’t know nearly as much as a lot of others) is because I’m dealing with EN1090 customers every day, anything to do with weld procedures/qualifications, non destructive and destructive testing, sitting in on audits, general consulting and also because I’m an RWC for a coupe of companies that are BCSA members and follow NSSS.
Are you on Linked in? That’s quite good for keeping up to date with things as long as you follow the right groups.

 

[nickk]

My audit is later this month,be interesting to hear what he states.

 

[Mid Wales welder]

My audit is later this month,be interesting to hear what he states.

Same here. It’s not mandatory until January, so might not even say anything until next year. I guess it depends who you get audited by and also what it says in your FPC manual.

 

[Welderpaul]

Same here. It’s not mandatory until January, so might not even say anything until next year. I guess it depends who you get audited by and also what it says in your FPC manual.

Our surveillance visit is delayed until January. I see good ol' BCSA don't sell NSSS7 electronically until December. 25 quid for non members.

Can I pick your brains... NDT on 304 6mm fillets. I understand DPI is the only form of NDT that can be done? I'm told UT is possible but hard on SS butts, but no chance on SS fillets.
The job is all 10mm to 25mm plate.

 

[Mid Wales welder]

Our surveillance visit is delayed until January. I see good ol' BCSA don't sell NSSS7 electronically until December. 25 quid for non members.

Can I pick your brains... NDT on 304 6mm fillets. I understand DPI is the only form of NDT that can be done? I'm told UT is possible but hard on SS butts, but no chance on SS fillets.
The job is all 10mm to 25mm plate.

Not sure why they haven’t made the download available until then, especially when you need to be confirming to it from January. I was the same, called up on Monday and could only get the small A5 type book, probably because they know people will buy it twice.

Yes SS is horrible to UT. For fillet welds then it’s only surface method NDT needed anyway, so for SS it would only be DPI required yes.
That’s for just straight fillets with no prep, if it’s a full or partial penetration fillet (T-Butt) then it would require volumetric examination, but on stainless steel it’s very hard and requires the specific calibration blocks.

 

[Welderpaul]

Not sure why they haven’t made the download available until then, especially when you need to be confirming to it from January. I was the same, called up on Monday and could only get the small A5 type book, probably because they know people will buy it twice.

Yes SS is horrible to UT. For fillet welds then it’s only surface method NDT needed anyway, so for SS it would only be DPI required yes.
That’s for just straight fillets with no prep, if it’s a full or partial penetration fillet (T-Butt) then it would require volumetric examination, but on stainless steel it’s very hard and requires the specific calibration blocks.

Thank you.

How are single side downhand butt/fillet weld procedure qualification plates in SS tested? Visual and mechanical i.e try to snap it off backwards?

 

[Mid Wales welder]

Thank you.

How are single side downhand butt/fillet weld procedure qualification plates in SS tested? Visual and mechanical i.e try to snap it off backwards?

A single sided fillet weld with no prep, so just a square edge plate in a T onto another plate for a procedure test in stainless steel would just have visual, DPI and two Macro examinations, that’s it. Carbon steel would also have a hardness test (plus DPI would be switched time MPI).
With the single sided butt weld it would depend on the joint prep and if it’s a full penetration weld? That would have visual, DPI (for group 8 stainless), radiography, tensile, bends and macros.
Or are we talking about single sided, full penetration T-Butt welds?
UT isn’t allowed for use on stainless steel procedure tests and in carbon steel is only for 8mm and above.
Here is an extract from ISO 15614 which is the standard used for weld procedure testing:

 

[Jak]

Nice to see this thread still providing relevant and constantly changing information. It's nice to have a place to trust rather than countless places spouting off incorrect information.
If you'll allow me to stay on topic but go off in a different direction...
We are a 1090 approved fabrication workshop with the large portion of our day to day work coming from local construction firms with a couple of larger tenders and regulars where applicable. I am in charge of our 1090 compliance and I wanted to ask a question that has dawned on me since becoming accredited. As I'm sure those of you whom serve the building and construction trade know, the correct plans/SE packs/ details are often not readily available or in fact aren't available at all. This often gives us the indication of EXC class. My question is, I'm not going to turn down the work from a guy/team who don't have this documentation to hand but how am i supposed to accurately and correctly record this as a 1090 job? Or is it in fact a case that without this documentation it can't be a 1090 job. Like I say, sometimes this information isn't available and sometimes I can be welding a single SHS post for someone. Is it the case that everything I put a weld to, whether I have the EXC Class to hand or not is to be treated as 1090 or is there some criteria that makes a distinction. To date I have treated every welded job as a 1090 and keep a job pack with all the necessary paperwork but as I'm sure anyone whom is doing this like me will know, this is incredibly labour intensive. I knew that 1090 compliance would be labour intensive so i am not moaning but I just want to make sure that I am doing things correctly...
Any advice or indeed criticism is welcomed
Thanks

NB: I have been discussing this with my RWC but it hasn't always been clear on what the solution is (could be my novice levels of understanding on something as new as this to myself) but he certainly appreciates how labour intensive it could be for someone coming from my angle

 

[Welderpaul]

Nice to see this thread still providing relevant and constantly changing information. It's nice to have a place to trust rather than countless places spouting off incorrect information.
If you'll allow me to stay on topic but go off in a different direction...
We are a 1090 approved fabrication workshop with the large portion of our day to day work coming from local construction firms with a couple of larger tenders and regulars where applicable. I am in charge of our 1090 compliance and I wanted to ask a question that has dawned on me since becoming accredited. As I'm sure those of you whom serve the building and construction trade know, the correct plans/SE packs/ details are often not readily available or in fact aren't available at all. This often gives us the indication of EXC class. My question is, I'm not going to turn down the work from a guy/team who don't have this documentation to hand but how am i supposed to accurately and correctly record this as a 1090 job? Or is it in fact a case that without this documentation it can't be a 1090 job. Like I say, sometimes this information isn't available and sometimes I can be welding a single SHS post for someone. Is it the case that everything I put a weld to, whether I have the EXC Class to hand or not is to be treated as 1090 or is there some criteria that makes a distinction. To date I have treated every welded job as a 1090 and keep a job pack with all the necessary paperwork but as I'm sure anyone whom is doing this like me will know, this is incredibly labour intensive. I knew that 1090 compliance would be labour intensive so i am not moaning but I just want to make sure that I am doing things correctly...
Any advice or indeed criticism is welcomed
Thanks

NB: I have been discussing this with my RWC but it hasn't always been clear on what the solution is (could be my novice levels of understanding on something as new as this to myself) but he certainly appreciates how labour intensive it could be for someone coming from my angle

It used to be the case that if the Execution class was not defined it defaulted to Exc 2. Not the case now. Sounds like we do similar work to you, and I asked exactly the same question from our auditor. If we don’t get the Exc class we request it in writing and if we don’t get it, clarify in the quote that it is priced based on Exc 2, and put the onus on them to advise if otherwise. You are well within your right to charge more for Exc 3 work, given the extra costs on the job.
It’s easier for us to just treat everything as BS1090 work.

We work for some large companies, most of whom understand the need for us to have all the relevant information. There are however those who are just clueless. The worst thing would be to assume the Exc class, do the job then find it is a higher class than envisaged!

 

[denlow60]

This can help with your question



What is the EN1090?


This is a series of standards, consisting of five parts (*), which describes the technical and administrative requirements that a construction made of steel, stainless steel or aluminum must meet. (*): Part 4 already exists, but has not yet been published. This deals with thin-walled steel elements for purposes such as facade and roof cladding.


The four volumes that are in circulation are the following:

Part 1: the administrative provisions regarding the conformity of structural parts

Part 2: the technical requirements for steel and stainless steel

Part 3: the technical requirements for aluminum

Part 5: The technical requirements for cold-worked aluminum elements and structures for purposes such as roof, ceiling, floor and facade cladding


The basis of this standard (and many others) is the

Construction Products Regulation.


________________________________________


________________________________________


History (*)

• 11.02.1989: The Construction Products Directive is published, the original predecessor of the regulation. However, this is not required by law, and was therefore more "for information".

• 9.03.2011: The Construction Products Regulation is published and thus becomes law in all European member states. Each Member State must transpose this regulation into national law within an agreed period.

• 30.06.2012: End of the so-called transition period, during which all companies had to comply with the Construction Products Regulation.

• Extension of this period, as the situation at the time was such that hardly anyone had complied.

• 30.06.2014: Final end of the transition period

• 1.07.2014: From this date, the EN1090 is a legal obligation, without exceptions or tolerance policy

(*): The above dates apply to Belgium, for the UK this may make a difference, but this

will not be much ..

For who is the EN1090?


For all manufacturers / suppliers / ..., who:

• Be in the construction or civil engineering sector

• Who create or edit (parts of) structures

• In a workshop

• In steel, stainless steel or aluminum

• That are permanently processed in a construction

• Which end up on the European market

and

• That do not fall under other standards (such as lighting poles)



How do I know if a construction is covered by EN1090?


First and foremost, the EN1090 deals exclusively with construction products, with the definition:

Any product or kit that is manufactured and placed on the market for permanent incorporation into construction works or parts thereof, and the performance of which has an impact on the performance of the construction work in relation to the basic requirements for construction works.

A structure is either architectural or civil engineering in nature,

a sealant is a construction product that is placed on the market by one manufacturer with at least two separate components that must be combined to be incorporated into the construction work.


The questionnaire below (courtesy of RH, AVI) provides an indication of whether a construction or a part falls under EN1090:

1. Is it a metal component?

2. Is the metal component manufactured in a workshop?

3. Will the metal component be put on the market (= sold or even for free)?

4. Is it a metal component intended for a building or civil construction?


5. Does the metal component have to absorb loads / forces?


6. Is it a "fixed" construction in which the component will be placed?


7. Can the metal component be calculated with Eurocodes (even if it can also be calculated with other Codes or standards)?


8. Is the metal component "not" explicitly mentioned as part of a DOC or DOP of another directive or regulation (eg machinery directive, PED, low voltage, ...)?


9. Is the metal component "not" explicitly subject to another directive or regulation?


10. Is the metal component "not" explicitly excluded from the scope of the EN 1090 series?
If the answer to all questions is positive, CE marking according to EN1090 is most likely (with some exceptions) mandatory.


Some examples of applications covered by EN1090

The examples below come from an internal document N753 dd. 24.11.2015 of the CEN / TC 135 working group (the EN1090 working group),
in which a number of examples of structures are explicitly divided into whether or not within the scope of EN1090
These examples do therefore fall under the EN1090:
• Balconies
• Balustrades (Barrier / Edge protection)
• Beams & Beam clamps (...)
• Bridges (road, railway, foot, pipe, ...)
• Buildings
• Canopy framing
• Carports
• Catwalks
• Crane structures (...)
• Handrails (Barrier / Edge protection)
• Mezzanine floors (+ Walkways)
• Pipeline and pipe supporting structures
• Sign and gantry girders
• Stairs without ETA
• Structural frames for buildings, warehouses, schools, hospitals, dwellings, industrial and agricultural sheds
• Trusses
• Winter gardens

• Green houses



What about the machinery directive, PED / pressure vessels, ...?


All standards, guidelines and directives have their own specific area of application. However, there are a number of examples where the boundary cannot be determined so clearly.

The supporting structures under pressure vessels and pipelines, for example, do indeed fall under EN1090.

Walkways or slatted floors around machines, which are subsequently built with or around them, are also covered by EN1090 unless they are "included" in the machine, and thus new documentation and an adjusted risk analysis of the machine is drawn up (which is stated in the practice almost never happens)


How do I determine the execution class for steel and stainless steel?

Once you are sure that the construction falls under EN1090, determine the execution class based on the following two parameters (+ all additional footnotes):


1: The Consequence Class or Consequence Class (CC)

• CC1 (Low): with minor impact on loss of life and minor or negligible economic, social or environmental impact

• CC2 (Middle): Limited impact on loss of life, significant economic, social or environmental impact

• CC3 (High): with major consequences for loss of life or very major economic, social or environmental consequences


2: The type of load: static or dynamic

3: Additional footnotes:

If EXC1 is specified for a construction, then EXC2 should be applied for the following types of components:

• welded components of material type S355 and higher,

• welded components essential for structural integrity and welded on site,

• welded trusses of hollow profiles for which the ends require a profile cut

• thermoformed or heat-treated components during manufacture

The above table and footnotes are from the Eurocode EN 1993-1-1 Annex C. For each country within the European Union where such a construction ends up, it must be checked whether the national annex of the Eurocodes does not prescribe any special requirements. Part of the Eurocodes may only be used if accompanied by a national annex. This is therefore an important control for foreign assignments.



How do I determine the execution class for aluminum?

To be completed, see EN1090-3 and EN 1999-1-1 Annex A



What requirements must a welding coordinator meet?


There are three levels of welding coordinators, namely:

• B of Basic Technical Knowledge

• S of Specific Technical Knowledge

• C of Comprehensive Technical Knowledge

At which:

B corresponds to RWC-B (only for steel!) Or IWS (welding specialist)

S agrees with IWT (welding technologist)

C corresponds to IWE or LPI (welding engineer or welding practice engineer)

continued on the next page

 

[denlow60]

The required levels are indicated in the following tables of the EN1090:

EN1090-2 Table 14 (steel):

EN1090-2 Table 15 (stainless steel):

Attention, the footnote of table 14 does not apply here, so thicker head and foot plates are not allowed!

EN1090-3 Table 7 (aluminum):

The type of filler material can be found in Eurocode 9: "Design and calculation of aluminum structures".

EN 1993-1-1 § 3.3.4 Table 3.5:

• Type 3: 3103

• Type 4: 4043A; 4047A

• Type 5: 5056A; 5356 / 5356A; 5556A / 5556B; 5183 / 5183A



What is a DoP or a Declaration of Performance?


A CE mark is issued by the manufacturer when the product is manufactured in accordance with EN1090.In addition, a statement of the product properties (or the so-called DoP) must also be drawn up and submitted. The template for this can be found in the CPR. There are also some examples (but not in the correct form) in Annex ZA.3 of EN1090-1.

This DoP can be drawn up according to 4 methods (see table below):

These 4 methods can be divided into two types:

• MPCS: Manufacturer Provided Component Specification

• PPCS: Purchaser Provided Component Specification


At MPCS the manufacturer is responsible for the structural design, at PPCS the client is responsible for this.

What is ITC and ITT?

• ITC: Initial Type Calculation

• ITT: Initial Type Testing


Both types are methods for assessing structural characteristics.

At ITC, the construction is calculated, at ITT, a prototype of the construction is tested until it fails or until it demonstrates that it can withstand a predetermined load.

A number of conditions must be met for both ITC and ITT. More information about this can be found in EN1090-1.


My company is certified, can I now make everything?

Congratulations! However, the certificate contains a number of information that clearly describes the area of application.

• The company, of course

• The address of the workshop: this certificate is an FPC certificate or a Factory Production Control system. This means that the processes in your workplace take place in accordance with the requirements of this standard. Another workshop (also from the same manufacturer) may use other brands or different types of equipment, which may imply a different working method. For this reason, each workshop must obtain its own certificate.

• The responsible welding coordinator

• The execution class

• Conformity with which standard: for steel and stainless steel this is part 2, for aluminum part 3 of the EN1090

• The method in which you may draw up the DoP

• The basic materials that you are allowed to process

• The welding processes for which you are certified

• The processes that you can and may perform internally


The above elements are the limiting parameters of your certification. For changes or extensions to this, prior approval must be obtained from the notified body responsible for the certification. Extensions are of course always possible, such as adding a welding process or, for example, the purchase of a plasma table. After entering the necessary documentation (procedures, work instructions, checks, ...), these may then be used in the context of the EN1090 activities.




What does that cost now, such an EN1090 certification?


The question everyone asks, of course.

There are a number of costs associated with preparing for EN1090 certification, such as:

• The welding coordinator course, depending on the performance class in which you want to be active

• The different welder qualifications (always compulsory)

• The welding procedure qualifications, depending on the execution class and steel grade

• The initial non-destructive testing for new welding procedures

• The validation of your welding stations or power sources (an annually recurring cost)

• The standards you need: of course EN1090-1 and part 2 and / or part 3, but there are also a number of others that are useful (and necessary), see below.

• Some miscellaneous costs, such as specific measuring tools

• Optional special software to follow up EN1090 projects

• The assessment itself of the notified body that will carry out your inspection

• With or without the help of an external agency to implement the EN1090 system and facilitate certification

• Possibly an external welding coordinator, but this is something that is preferably kept indoors as far as possible (and certainly with EXC2).

• ...




What other standards are necessary when you run an EN1090 system?


• EN 1090-1: the requirements for determining the conformity of structural parts


• EN 1090-2 (for steel and stainless steel) and / or EN1090-3 (for aluminum)


• EN ISO 3834 part 3 and part 5 (for EXC2); or part 2 and part 5 (for EXC3 and EXC4)


• EN ISO 5817: the document dealing with the visual inspection of the welds.


• EN ISO 8501-3: visual representation of surface imperfections. This is important in the context of the preparation for preservation.


• EN ISO 9606-1: qualifying steel fusion welders, as this is something the welding coordinator can do himself ...

 

[Mid Wales welder]

Great posts above, also very informative for anyone wanting to know more about EN1090.
Just a coupe of things to add, the EXC class is now determined by the designer and not default to the manufacturer (unless the manufacturer is the designer and this is stated in their FPC which they are accredited too). So as Paul has said above, it’s good to get things in writing from the customer and clarify this before starting work.
The other this is the levels for qualification of a welding co-ordinator, this has now been changed in the EN1090-2:2018 version under 7.4.3 which states knowledge as specified in ISO 14731 which has now removed the IWS, IWT & IWE reference annex. This was only a recommendation in the previous standard which is why someone having sat an approved RWC course could be an RWC for EXC 2, material S355 and below and material 25mm and below.