Abstract

Aim: Activities of product certification bodies, performed on a voluntary basis, are increasingly gaining in importance from one year to the next. National and European organizations perform this activity in accordance with defined criteria and principles, which among others, stem from legal provisions, norms and guidelines provided by accreditation bodies. The purpose of this article is to present practical examples of voluntary certification of products for selected certification bodies and identification of significance for the manufacturing market, based on an example of certification of building materials used for fire protection and other products.

Introduction: Obligatory product evaluation systems exist in Poland and Europe. It is pertinent to observe that the market for building construction materials, including products used for fire protection, is very dynamic. There are many products, which cannot be evaluated in accordance with obligatory systems. Manufacturers of such products have difficulties in selling their goods because they cannot make use of documents to confirm compliance with specified requirements. In order to build confidence in the product and the manufacturer, goods can be evaluated by one of the voluntary assessment systems. In this way a manufacturer can secure appropriate documentation and label the product with a symbol, which is recognized by the industry.

Conclusions: Voluntary evaluation of products is carried out by many domestic and foreign organizations. It is possible to identify important similarities and differences in their activities including, amongst other things, policies relating to labeling of products with a voluntary certification symbol. Despite differences and similarities, documents issued by independent bodies through the voluntarily scheme provide information about the product to the market stakeholders, facilitating decisions and acquisition choice. That is why interest in this form of evaluation of products used in fire protection is constantly increasing.

Relevance in practice: The prospect of voluntary product assessment is very important for the producers and consumers from the standpoint of placing products on the market and assurance that products have appropriate properties to satisfy specific requirements. Therefore, information about activities of certification bodies in this area as well as the potential for product labeling is important for the market. These provide an important device for designers, installers, customers and users of products.

Keywords: product evaluation, certification, product labeling, requirements

Type of article: review article