One of the frequent questions that we get asked is: Do bespoke products need to be CE marked?
It can very much depend upon the type of product and the Legislation that is applicable. As a general rule of thumb, most of the current CE Marking Directives do not have any exclusions for one-off items or bespoke products, so usually the answer is that they will need to be CE Marked. However, this isn’t necessarily the case for ‘construction products’. It is possible, under the Construction Products Regulation, for a manufacturer to refrain from drawing up a Declaration of Performance, using one of the derogations given within Article 5. There are three possibilities:
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(a) The construction product is individually manufactured or custom-made in a non-series process in response to a specific order, and installed in a single identified construction work, by a manufacturer who is responsible for the safe incorporation of the product into the construction works, in compliance with the applicable national rules and under the responsibility of those responsible for the safe execution of the construction works designated under the applicable national rules.
(b) The construction product is manufactured on the construction site for its incorporation in the respective construction works in compliance with the applicable national rules and under the responsibility of those responsible for the safe execution of the construction works designated under the applicable national rules. (c) The construction product is manufactured in a traditional manner or in a manner appropriate to heritage conservation and in a non-industrial process for adequately renovating construction works officially protected as part of a designated environment or because of their special architectural or historic merit, in compliance with the applicable national rules. |
The first derogation probably has the widest appeal of the three, but it care must taken when applying this rule. Firstly it is important to point out that the derogation makes a point about the ‘custom’ construction product being made in a ‘non-series’ process, but also that the bespoke nature must be in terms of the Essential Characteristics that are given within the relevant standard (and not necessarily its physical appearance). If we were to take a domestic bath as an example, a customer may want a bespoke bath to be made in a specific colour other than the standard white colour. In this scenario, the bespoke bath would not fall within the derogation given within the Regulation as the colour of the tub is not included in the list of Essential Characteristics for a domestic bath and would therefore need to be CE Marked.
There is only one other consideration: Does the bespoke construction product fall within any other CE marking Directives? If the construction product is also electrical at a mains voltage, then it is likely that it will also fall in scope of the Low Voltage Directive and will be required to be CE marked anyway.
If you have any questions on this article, or need any support with CE Marking, please call us on 01527 595066.
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