UNI EN 1090 Fast Certification?

In the last period a lot has been said about ways to certify carpentry and systems that are more or less facilitated to obtain certification, also thanks to the collaboration of Entities and Organizations that tend to deal with the topic with superficiality or worse still as it goes to say to the Italian (ie not taking things seriously but focusing on what can be the possible escamotage, to overcome the problems and demands of the regulatory system)

By making an explicit reference to the activities of the carpentry production workshop:

Initial Situation (from DM 16/01/1996 to N.T.C. 2008)

During this period there were no limitations for workshops that intended to carry out structural structural carpentry other than the ability of the product to commission the product in terms of equipment and space, so no specific knowledge was required, as well as no qualifications needed of staff or production controls, simply anyone who thought he was able to do a particular job could do it.

n practice chaos reigned the only way to overcome the lack of regulatory references, it was in some cases the professionalism and experience of some designers or builders.

Recent History. (N.T.C. 2008)

Anyone without any exclusion to provide construction material or more generally to build structural carpentry is required in law to register his company to the Higher Board of Public Works as a Steel Conversion Center.

Buildings or structures are divided mainly between:

• Structures subject to fatigue or turmoil
• Structure subject to static stress!

This step required a great deal of effort for companies wishing to build carpentry, as without distinction between number of employees, turnover classes or type of work, all must undergo the same process as:

• The implementation of a Quality Management System UNI EN ISO 9001 certified by a Notified Body
• The implementation of quality management system for the welding process UNI EN ISO 3834 Certification, which provides different degrees of application depending on the type of construction to be carried out (eg 3832-2 for structures subject to fatigue or earthquake or 3834 -3 for static structures), which includes the following points:
  • Use for welding operations of qualified personnel (the famous welder patents) according to UNI EN 287 now UNI EN 9606, issued by a notified body;
  • Use of WPS (Welding Procedure Specification or shortly a document to be supplied to the welder with all welding and joint preparation parameters) produced according to UNI EN 15609;
  • Qualified welding procedures UNI EN 15614 (single system provided) issued by notified body;
  • Possession of staff responsible for covering the role of co-ordinator of welding;
  • Warehouse management and related traceability of base material and supply material;
  • Management of equipment with relative periodic maintenance in order to ensure continuous initial efficiency and constancy in the process;
• Integration within its own staff for VT visual inspection (100% for all joints) 2nd degree certificate according to UNI EN 473 now become UNI EN 9712
• Integrating within its own staff of professional figures responsible for the role of Technical Director of Establishment, who necessarily has to be a technical professional enrolled in his / her membership register (order or college), among the various tasks of the DTS are:
  • Supervision of production activities;
  • Checking acceptance of base material by sampling to be tested as provided in §11.3.4.11.2.3 of D.M. 14/01/2008;
  • Recording the results of the checks performed as in the previous point;
• Complex document management, as it increases the amount of documents to be produced for each single order then to be kept for legal terms (at least 10 years)!

Without going into further detail, it is obvious that all this work and commitment has undoubtedly increased the quality of the products provided or realized, and the professionalism of companies involved in guaranteeing and protecting the final customer and civil society, all this also against competition European, to get all this, companies have had to make significant investments in economic terms, which some unfortunately have managed to avoid bypassing the requirement, using misinformation or the conviction of buyers and professionals!

It should be remembered that since 1 July 2009 the application of the Technical Standards for Construction became mandatory, it is from that date that the various Works Offices engaged throughout the national territory would no longer be able to receive on a material site that was not produced according to the requirements of the NTC, then the Transformation Centers in the case of steel;

Current situation (UNI EN 1090-1)

Anyone without any exclusion to provide construction material or more generally to build structural carpentry is obliged in law to provide the CE marking of their products!

As is well known, UNI EN 1090 classifies constructions according to 4 execution classes, starting from EXC1 (for simple structures of absolutely no relevance and importance) up to the EXC4 class (for structures of national strategic importance or for civil protection purposes)

Certification for CE carpentry marking can be obtained by submitting its own FPC (factory production control) to the examination of a Notified Body!

According to the UNI EN 1090-1 standard, factory production control or FPC between the following points:

• requires the application of an organizational methodology, in this case the requirements of the UNI 9001 are considered an acceptable method (in the case even if a certified system does not require a proof of application);
• requires the implementation of a quality management system for the welding process conforming to UNI EN ISO 3834, which envisages different degrees of application depending on the type of construction to be manufactured (eg 3832-2 for structures subject to fatigue or turmoil or 3834-3 for static structures) of particular importance for welded structures since it is then promptly recalled by UNI EN 1090-2 "Execution of steel structures" (a certified system guarantees the evidence of application), the correspondence between the EXC execution classes and the different levels of UNI EN 3834 and defined by the UNI EN 1090-2 standard, the points for UNI EN 3834 for the CE marking are:
  • Use for welding operations of qualified personnel according to UNI EN 9606;
  • Use of WPS produced according to UNI EN 15609 for welding activities, including pre-assembly and repair activities;
  • Qualified welding procedures UNI EN 15614, UNI EN 15613, and only for EXC2 execution class, it is possible to use the qualified procedures according to UNI EN 15612;
  • Having qualified / certified staff to serve as a welding coordinator in accordance with UNI EN 14731, this figure in particular plays a key role in the organization's activities!
  • Warehouse management and related traceability of base material and supply material;
  • Management of equipment with relative periodic maintenance in order to ensure continuous initial efficiency!
• Adoption within the organization of VT visual inspection staff (100% for all joints) 2nd degree certificate according to UNI EN 9712 (ex UNI 473)
• Integration of visual controls with other methods whose extension is always defined by the UNI EN 1090-2 standard based on the performance classes with penetration (PT) or magnetic particles (MT) for all activities related to PND ( Non Destructive Testing) the staff must always be certified 2nd level according to UNI EN 9712.
• The figure of the Technical Director of establishment is no longer necessary, now the responsibilities are from the manufacturer, or the person who signs the performance statement (DOP), and can use external figures to verify compliance, common case and assignment to welding coordinator!
• Document management that as for N.T.C. is complex, as it increases the amount of documents to be produced for each single job, including designs, designs, reports, certifications, and more than anything to keep for the law (at least 10 years)!

It is obvious that this certification represents the natural evolution of the N.T.C., which is now evolving from national legislation towards free trade and transit of goods within the European Community, being UNI EN 1090 European legislation applicable throughout the territory without restriction!

Companies that in previous years had activated to operate in accordance with N.T.C. obviously have the advantage of obtaining certification, and with relatively little effort they can adapt to the new legislation without any particular burden (precisely because much of the work has already been done in a serious way in previous years), continuing to improve qualitatively the work and prestige of a category absolutely fundamental to the Italian economy, such as that of the buildings (in this case related to steel), while for companies that for the most disparate reasons are looking to produce carpentry without experience in the field it becomes necessary commitment and a remarkable investment in terms of human and economic resources to achieve the same qualitative and organizational standards of the previous ones!

So we personally feel that we are responding to mails, faxes or communications of various kinds and genres that are promptly delivered to us, and which we imagine are widespread, with titles of the kind: "... REGISTER NOW WITH ... omissis ... "," IF YOU WANT TO CREATE SURE AND COSTS CONTAINED IN THE CERTIFICATION ... "," ... WE PROVIDE THE CE MARKING ON YOUR PRODUCTS ... ", etc ... etc ... that one product certification "easy", "immediate", practically uncompromising, almost by buying it from office absolutely does not need anyone, from the buyers to the technicians to end up to the various categories involved are all penalized, except to those who publicize it playing on the targeting, aiming information and possible voids or regulatory gaps, denigrating the work and commitment of the many companies that have been committed to working and respecting recognized standards in recent years, "product certification is not necessary that is f acute or immediate, but it must be serious, which can be a distinctive title for the organizations that adopt it and believe it "and that it will allow Italian companies to compete and become more successful on the European and international markets!

To conclude on the basis of these considerations it is absolutely essential to rely on certified companies with EXC-3 execution class, and later as:

• this execution class "does not allow shortcuts" of any kind to obtain the certification itself, unless seriousness is the commitment of the organizations they intend to achieve;
• it does not represent an additional burden for the designers who want to entrust their works except for a quality guarantee;
• is the most effective way to reward qualitatively and professionally the companies that are so popular and widely spread throughout the Italian territory that as ours have immediately engaged in the certification process!