Minutes of EGOLF Plenary meeting, Moscow – 23 September …



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European Group of Organisations for Fire testing,

Inspection and Certification

.uk

EGOLF plenary

Secretary General

Ruth Boughey

EGOLF

Holmesfield Road

Warrington WA1 2DS

UK

ruth.boughey@.uk

tel + 44 1925 646 665

fax + 44 1925 646 630

2007-04-18

Draft report of the EGOLF plenary meeting held on 12 April 2007 at SP Borås Sweden

|1 |Opening of the meeting |

| | |

| |The Chairman welcomed members and thanked SP for providing the excellent meeting facilities. |

|2 |Approval of the agenda |

| | |

| |The draft agenda given in document N465rev was approved. |

|3 |Approval of the report of the previous meeting (N464) |

| | |

| |The report of the previous meeting held on 20 September 2006 was agreed. |

| |resolution 188 |

|4 |Matters arising |

| | |

| |At the previous meeting members were asked to submit any additional comments on the need for workshops and also use of the |

| |website. No comments had been received. |

|5 |Appointment of EGOLF officials |

| | |

| |Following a ballot undertaken at the meeting the following were appointed: |

| |President elect – N Rowan |

| |Executive committee, 2nd term – A Borowy |

| |Internal auditor – R Ehrlenspiel |

|6 |Questionnaire – ‘how can EGOLF improve the services to its members’ (N473) |

| | |

| |A small number of members had replied to the questionnaire and the summary of initial replies had been given in N473, further |

| |replies were obtained during the meetings. The Executive was asked to study these views in more detail and give a detailed |

| |report of actions needed in response to views of members at the next meeting. |

| |action Executive |

|7 |EGOLF quality policy |

| |Implementation of existing policy |

| | |

| |Members were reminded that in accordance with the agreed quality policy all laboratories should have been accredited to EN |

| |ISO/IEC 17025 by the end of 2006. Document N472 showed the information currently available on the EGOLF website, the up to date |

| |source of information. This document also showed which members had recorded activity in certification and inspection and their |

| |accreditation in these areas. |

| | |

| |The Chairman emphasised that quality was one of the key elements for EGOLF membership and the EGOLF quality policy had been |

| |agreed by all members, making accreditation to 17025 a mandatory requirement of EGOLF membership. The President would write to |

| |all members which had not provided evidence of accreditation asking them for reasons for this and their timetable to achieve |

| |accreditation. The next plenary meeting would discuss what actions should be taken against those members not providing an |

| |acceptable reply. |

| |action President |

| | |

| |Turning to testing activities documents N466 and N467 recorded which laboratories undertook which of the key European tests and |

| |where harmonised training courses had been attended by these labs. Again members were reminded that in accordance with the |

| |quality policy each laboratory should send a technician to a harmonisation course, for each test they undertook, by the end of |

| |2008. Some laboratories had still not provided information to the Secretary General and they were to be chased for this |

| |information. |

| |action Secretary General |

| | |

| |The next update of the website would include details of which tests EGOLF members could undertake and this would be linked to a |

| |search facility (this would provide the answer to a query such as ‘I am a flooring manufacturer in Austria, which EGOLF labs |

| |near me can undertake a test on my products?’). Those members which had not send a technician to relevant Harmonisation Courses |

| |would not be listed on the website as providing those tests. |

| | |

| |The second part of these two documents identified course needs for 2007. Any other members needing to send technicians to a |

| |course were to contact the Secretary General. |

| |action Secretary General, members |

| | |

| |Possible additional activities to demonstrate the quality of EGOLF members |

| | |

| |Prof Wickstrom introduced document N471 which addressed several activities and the financial consequences. |

| | |

| |There was little support amongst members present for EGOLF initial training courses on basic aspects of fire testing. However |

| |this would not prevent any laboratory arranging such training with a provider of a Harmonised EGOLF Course. |

| | |

| |The importance of the Harmonisation Courses was endorsed and members were asked to ensure that the Secretary6 General was |

| |informed if any technician from a member laboratory left the lab so that the records could be kept up to date on the website. |

| | |

| |It was considered that workshops could be useful and it was suggested that TC2 could organise workshops for |

| |testing penetration seals and linear joint seals |

| |tests using tracer gas techniques e.g. ducts, dampers & lift landing doors. |

| | |

| |Addressing the financial consequences of providing support from the EGOLF funds for such projects, members endorsed this |

| |approach and also the proposal that the EGOLF capitol should not fall below €50,000. |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|8 |Membership and statutes |

| | |

| |Since the last meting 2 organisations had demonstrated they met the requirements for membership; Gaiker, Spain and MeKA, Latvia |

| |were welcomed as new members. |

| | |

| |One new membership enquiry had been received from a laboratory in Spain and SII Israel had reconfirmed their interest in |

| |membership. |

| | |

| |Members had discussed possible new membership categories at the last meeting and the Executive had been asked to submit |

| |proposals on the basis of these discussions. The proposed revised Statues were given in N468 and Mr Rowan summarised the |

| |requirements for the new category of associate membership which would be open to any organisation outside Europe. |

| | |

| |The importance of maintaining European interests at the forefront of EGOLF was emphasised and it was considered that admitting |

| |associate members would assist if promoting the use of European tests and the interest of full EGOLF members worldwide. |

| | |

| |Noting these points the majority of members present supported the amendments to the Statutes given in N468. |

| |resolution 189 |

| |procedural note: the Internal rules require the support of 2/3 of members (37) for any changes to the Statutes, 30 members voted|

| |in support of resolution 189 and the views of members not present would be sought after the meeting. |

|9 |Internal Rules |

| | |

| |Document N469 was an editorial update of the Internal Rules and also incorporated the changes needed to permit associate |

| |membership. It was agreed that it should be stated that EGOLF Technical Recommendations and Recommendations should cover |

| |European Standards only and this change should be made to N469. With this change the document was approved. |

| | |

| |resolution 190 |

| |procedural note: the Internal rules require the support of 2/3 of members (37) for any changes to the Internal Rules, 30 members|

| |voted in support of resolution 189 and the views of members not present would be sought after the meeting. |

|10 |Finances |

| | |

| |2006 financial report |

| | |

| |Prof Wickstrom introduced the financial report for 2006 in document N470. The income had slightly exceeded that budgeted and |

| |expenses were also a little below budget. Taking into account the special projects, which were funded from the capitol, not the |

| |2006 income, the overall reserves at the end of 2006 were €115,096. |

| | |

| |The Secretary General reported that the budget for 2007 for the website maintenance would be increased slightly to cover the |

| |increased complexity of the website, this was agreed. |

| | |

| |Noting these points the financial report was agreed for passing to the Internal Auditors for their scrutiny. |

| |resolution 191 |

| | |

| |payment of 2006 membership subscriptions |

| | |

| |As of 12 April 10 members had still not paid their subscriptions. In addition to the original invoice, 2 reminders had been sent|

| |and the Secretary General would continue to pursue these payments. |

| |action Secretary General |

| | |

|11 |EGOLF / EAPFP conference June 2007 |

| | |

| |This was an important conference for the profile of EGOLF across Europe. Mr Rowan explained that all speakers had now been |

| |agreed and the keynote speech would be made by Mr Leoz from the EC and he would explain the EC’s proposals for revising the CPD.|

| |The impact on the fire performance of construction products would be emphasised. All members had been send leaflets in both |

| |paper and electronic form and were asked to ensure the event was widely publicised in their country and to their clients. |

|12 |Reports from technical committees |

| | |

| |TC1 Reaction to fire |

| | |

| |Mr van Mierlo reported that TC1 and its Task Groups had met the previous day. The round robin on EN ISO 1182 had been completed |

| |and the preliminary report presented. Plans for the next round robin on EN ISO 1716 had started. In official terms these round |

| |robins did not meet the standard requirements as insufficient samples were tested and were viewed as simplified versions. The |

| |2007 budget included the 1716 round robin and a proposal would be submitted to the executive for their approval (for release of |

| |funds). |

| | |

| |TC1 had endorsed the Helpdesk system with appointed experts in each area to give a quick response. Due to staff changes new |

| |experts had been appointed for EN ISO 1716 (S Kuehnen) and EN 13823 (S Lopez). Various items had been discussed in TGs, non |

| |leading to Recommendations at this meeting but further discussions on smoke measurement in the SBI could be important. |

| | |

| |Finally Mr van Mierlo had now completed his maximum term of office and TC1 had elected Mr |

| |Lopez as the new Chairman. |

| | |

| |TC2 Fire resistance |

| | |

| |TC2 would meet the following day under the chair of its newly appointed Chairman Mr Drustrup. In addition to several technical |

| |point to be discussed in TGs, TC2 would consider organising a fire resistance round robin. |

| | |

| |TC4 Accreditation, certification and inspection |

| | |

| |Ms Borgonie reported that TC4 would consider 2 main items following this plenary meeting, the revision of EGOLF R4 and proposals|

| |for uncertainty of measurement. |

|13 |EGOLF website |

| | |

| |Mr Rowan reported on the planned improvements to the database on the website to make it more user friendly. When this work had |

| |been completed he would draft a leaflet to publicise its use. Mr Lopez reported on the use of the database in Spain and said |

| |that AFITI LICOF had prepared a leaflet on this, in Spanish, for their clients. |

| |action Mr Rowan |

| | |

| |The other 2 areas of the website, public and members’ area, were also being updated. All of the information on members would be |

| |placed into a database which would form the basis of the website information. This would enable a search facility to be used in |

| |the public area to find facilities offered by members. The layout and design would also be improved. |

|14 |Liaison reports |

| | |

| |EOTA PT4 and EGF |

| |These reports, appended, were presented by Dr Borowy. |

| | |

| | |

| |GNB Fire Sector Group |

| |This had met earlier in the week. Procedural matters discussed included cumulative attestation of conformity and interpretation |

| |of the starred footnotes relating to the AoC for reaction to fire. Replying to a query submitted it had been stated that |

| |classification against EN 14390 was not possible at present, this would need to be agreed within the SCC, on the advice of the |

| |EGF. |

| | |

| |Technical matters considered included testing concrete tiles, testing products containing a non-substantial component and smoke |

| |measurement in the SBI. |

| | |

| |IMO |

| |Mr Bluhme reported that a new correspondence group on the FTP code for both fire resistance and reaction to fire was being |

| |developed and discussions on this would close at the next meeting. Following earlier correspondence it had now been agreed that |

| |IMO would endorse the use of the plate thermometer for fire resistance tests. |

| | |

| |Fire safety engineering |

| |No one present at the meeting was involved in FSE discussions in ISO/TC92/SC4. Mr Coget (from Dr Kruppa) agreed to provide an |

| |update on activities at the next meeting. Also Prof Wickstrom (from Mr Sundstrom) would provide an update on any additional |

| |activities in CEN/TC127. |

| |action Mr Coget, Prof Wickstrom |

| | |

| |General sources of information on key European activities |

| |The SG demonstrated key sources of information about CEN. EOTA, GNB and EC, see annexed details. |

|15 |Health, safety and environmental matters |

| | |

| |No items were reported. |

|16 |Any other business |

| | |

| |No items were raised. |

|17 |Dates and venue of next meeting |

| | |

| |At the invitation of PAVUS this would be held in Prague over the period 8-10 October. |

RESOLUTIONS AGREED DURING THE MEETING

Resolution 188 Report of the September 2006 meeting

The report of the EGOLF Plenary meeting held on 20 September 2006 (N464) is accepted.

for: 32 members

Resolution 189 Amendments to EGOLF Statutes

EGOLF plenary agrees to amend the Statutes to include the new class of Associate membership, as given in N468, and taking into account discussions in the meeting.

for: 30 members, against 2 members

Resolution 190 Revised EGOLF Internal Rules

EGOLF Plenary agrees the revised Internal Rules as set out in N469.

for: 30 members, against 2 members

Resolution 191 EGOLF financial report for 2006

EGOLF Plenary approves the annual financial report for 2006 (N470) subject to its acceptance by the EGOLF internal auditors.

for: 32 members

|Attendance Chair – K Schmidt Pedersen |

|Secretary – R Boughey |

|Austria |IBS | |

| |MSW | |

|Belarus |RIFS |A Kudriashov, D Zhitkevic |

|Belgium |ISSEP | |

| |LIEGE | |

| |WFGENT |P Vandevelde, C Borgonie |

|Bulgaria |RFSCPI |D Stoyanov, K Kantchev |

|Czech Rep |PAVUS | M Louma, J Dufec, R Hruska |

|Denmark |DIFT |D Bluhme |

|Estonia |TUV NB |A Kuusk |

|Finland |VTT |M Lanu, T Ryynänen, K Kaukanen, T Vesala |

|France |CSTB |apologies |

| |Efectis |P Coget |

| |LNE |apologies |

| |SME | |

|Germany |BAM |E Schroder |

| |DIBt |T Dreyer |

| |MPA St |apologies |

| |MFPA LEIP | |

| |MPA Bau HANN |B Restorff |

| |MPA B’WEIG |G Blume |

| |MPA NRW |S Kuehnen, J Pennings |

| |P HOCH |A Hoch |

| |TU MUNC |apologies |

|Hungary |EMI | |

|Italy |CSI | |

| |DCPST | |

| |I GIORD | |

| |ITC-CNR | |

| |IVALSA-CNR | |

| |LAPI |D Borsini |

| |LSF |S Messa, M Pezzani |

|Latvia |FRD LAT |U Poris |

| |MeKA |E Buksans |

|Lithuania |FRC LITH | |

|Netherlands |Efectis |R van Mierlo |

| |BDA |A Bron |

|Norway |SINTEF |S Baade |

|Poland |ITB |A Borowy, M Lukomski |

|Portugal |LNEC |C Pina Santos |

|Russia |VNIIPO | |

|Slovakia |FIRES |S Rastocky |

|Slovenia |ZAG |M Hajdukovic |

|Spain |AFITI |A Garzón, S López |

| |AITEX |apologies |

| |APPLUS |J Mirabent |

| |Gaiker |apologies |

|Sweden |SP |U Wickstrom |

|Switzerland |EMPA |P Schnewlin, T Nussbaumer |

| |SSI |C Kubainsky |

|UK |CIF |apologies |

| |FRS |R Jones |

| |Bwf |N Rowan |

|Israel |SII |apologies |

Report of the EOTA PT4 meeting 31st October 2006

1. As a result of discussion it was agreed that it would be preferable to handle all fire dampers (mechanical and others) in one product standard, but that the latter should refer to the TR24 for the evaluation of the reactive materials, if incorporated. In this way the ETAG on Fire stopping and sealing products could be restricted to air transfer grilles, which it covers at present and which would be in line with the original mandate.

Regarding the air transfer grilles, it was recognised that apart from the ones with intumsecent material, there might be some products similar to the ones used as dampers in ducts, but acting under a lower pressure. The ETAG, if restricted to air transfer grilles only, should then also handle these mechanical ones. It was also confirmed that EN 1366-2 would not be used as test standard. Regarding the cold smoke leakage evaluation, the air transfer grilles should not have a separate “S” classification; instead a leakage rate of the grilles would be mentioned which needs to be added to the leakage rate of the element in which they are incorporated (wall or door); this total system would then receive an “S” class.

2. The issue of testing and classification cavity barriers was discussed. EGOLF/TC2 is preparing a Technical Report which could then be referenced in the relevant ETAG part. A remaining problem seems to be that the relevant classification decision does not consider the UK regulation on this issue, and it needs to be solved. It was in this context stressed that the problem is not so much the wall or floor situation: it concerns the prevention of internal fire spread; a fire resistance time can therefore be given for the cavity barrier.

3. The problem regarding further clarifications on the mounting and fixing rules for the reaction to fire testing of translucent roof elements was presented – France requires r. t. f. classification for these products. Of course it was agreed that the product should be tested as it is applied in practice; this will in most cases be with an air gap behind the panel. Hence, PT 4 discussed extensively the air gap and came to the following proposal:

- the test normally envisages a 200 mm distance between the front of the backing board and the front of the product, exposed to the burner;

- in order to be realistic, the air gap between backing board and back face of the product should always be minimum 150 mm; thereto the backing board might have to be adjusted.

Furthermore it was recommended to separate both wings by a metallic frame, which represents the reality of the mounting of these systems, although it concerns mainly a material test, intending to control the flammability of the product and the product could therefore be mounted in the test in an artificial way.

As there is no response from France the decision was not finalized.

4. A meeting of the adhoc group on the spread of fire over façades for EOTA related products was scheduled on January 2007.

Report of the COMMISSION EXPERT GROUP ON FIRE ISSUES REGARDING CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS (EGF) meeting 5th December 2006

1. Draft mandate to CEN/CENELEC for standardization work regarding power, control and communication electric cables was finalized. Attestation of conformity systems applicable to electric cables intended to be used in supply of electricity, communications, fire detection and alarm were decided.

2. The progress of CWFT cases was presented and discussed.

3. Next meeting: 14th June 2007

Sources of information for EGOLF members

CEN/TC127 ‘Fire safety in buildings’

Chairman – S D Christian, Secretary – D Peacock, BSI UK

This committee is responsible for preparing and maintaining standards on fire testing. European Standards (ENs) are published through the national standards bodies (NSB) e.g. DIN, AFNOR, BSI. The best way of finding out what is happening and commenting on documents is by being a member of the national mirror committee, organised by the NSB in your country.

Draft ENs are circulated for enquiry and are announced and available through the NSBs.

EGOLF provides an update at each meeting of standards published and in preparation, and copies of key drafts e.g. revision of SBI, are made available to members. Other key documents discussed within TC127 plenary can be provided by the SG. Documents discussed in TC127 WGs are not available to the SG and can only be obtained through being a member of the NSB mirror committee.

Work in CEN product TCs

The CEN website provides much information cen.eu

A list of all TCs, with their chairmen and secretaries and current work programmes.

The ‘construction business domain’ gives a regular ‘snapshot’ of the progress of draft harmonised product standards. Draft documents are not available through the CEN website, only through the NSBs. EGOLF SG does not have access to draft documents from the CEN TCs.

EOTA eota.be

Copies of all agreed ETAGs are available here.

NANDO database of EC DG Enterprise construction unit

ec.europa.eu/enterprise/contruction

Under the Construction Products Directive there is information on

- harmonized standards, dates of applicability and end of co-existence period

- ETAGs

- Position papers

- EC Guidance papers

- GNB agreed documents (from product Sector Groups and Fire Sector Group)

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EGOLF Plenary N474

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