DHF issues warning about external panic and emergency exit doorsets

Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) and GAI (the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers) have recently been informed by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) that they are aware of cases where external panic or emergency exit doorsets have been supplied, conformity marked against EN 14351-1:2006+A2:2016, but without the necessary third-party certification.

“There is concern that some economic operators may not be fully aware of the conformity marking requirements for these products, and we believe it is appropriate to issue a general reminder to the market,” explains Michael Skelding, DHF’s General Manager & Secretary.

“There is no suggestion of course, that the suppliers concerned were members of either DHF or GAI.”

The testing and certification required for conformity marking (CE or UKCA) is specified in the Annex Z of EN 14351-1:2006+A2:2016. To conformity mark an external doorset that is neither fire-resisting nor an emergency/panic exit, no third-party certification is required.

Other performance characteristics, such as watertightness and resistance to wind load, will typically require third-party testing from a notified or approved test body, but not third-party certification.

“The requirement for third-party certification arises when an external doorset being placed on the market has either or both of the following special characteristics,” concludes Michael, “that it is a panic or emergency exit (fitted with appropriate hardware), and/or that it is fire-resisting.

“Third-party certification must be obtained from an EU notified certification body (for CE marking) or a UK approved certification body (for UKCA marking).

“The certification body will issue a Certificate of Constancy of Performance, which the manufacturer (or person responsible for placing the product on the market) must retain in their technical file for the product.”