A training with the same topics was already held for the accreditation bodies of the SEE region in the frame of another project (SIDA-EFTA project “Quality Infrastructure for the Western Balkans”) in June 2017 but that time none of the SEE countries had implemented the EU Regulation No. 305/2011 on construction products. Having the CPR been implemented in some SEE countries, the accreditation bodies of the SEE region requested a training on notification and accreditation in this field.
The concept of the training was to provide information on the CPR, the activities of the German notifying authority and the accreditation activities of the German national accreditation body in the field of CPR. The training was designed for the staff and external assessors of the national accreditation bodies and representatives of the national designating authorities of the SEE countries.
The training was provided by Heidelinde Fiege from the German notifying authority for CPR (DIBt - Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik) and Dr. Andreas Kalisch, the German national accreditation body (DAkkS - Deutche Akkreditieungstelle GmbH) and was moderated by Rózsa Ring. There was a big interest, 42 persons participated from the 6 SEE countries.
Having briefly introduced DIBt, Heidelinde Fiege summarized the CPR’s specificities and the “Assessment and Verification of Constancy of Performance” (AVCP) systems of the CPR describing the tasks of the notified bodies in each system and the requirements for the notified bodies. Then having explained the tasks of the notifying authorities she detailed the notification process in the EU when notification is based on accreditation covering all CPR requirements and when notification is not based on accreditation or based on accreditation partly covering all CPR requirements. She emphasized that in Germany accreditation is a prerequisite for notification and therefore DIBt closely cooperates with DAkkS.
Having briefly introduced DAkkS and its key figures, Dr. Andreas Kalisch provided a comprehensive interpretation of EA-2/17 EA Document on Accreditation for Notification Purposes and on how this mandatory document is implemented by DAkkS in the field of CPR. Then Andreas presented DAkkS accreditation process in the field of CPR detailing the application phase, the assessment phase, the granting accreditation phase and the accreditation cycle phase. He showed several examples from DAkkS’s practices. Special attention was paid to the competence requirements for assessors and technical experts, the specific accreditation criteria for conformity assessment bodies involved in the AVCP, the general and sector specific assessment reports/checklists used by DAkkS assessment teams and the scope of accreditation in this specific regulated field.
The participants raised several questions related to DAkkS’s experiences in accreditation in the field of CPR and to the cooperation between DAkkS and DIBt.
The feedback of the participants of the virtual training was positive, they found the virtual training very informative and useful for supporting the establishment of their accreditation in the field of construction products for designation purposes. They welcomed the German example of being accreditation a prerequisite for notification as a model to followed.
