Feature UKCA FIA Guide to the UK Fire Safety Industry
Working on
the UKCA mark
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UKCA MARKING came into effect on 1
January this year. However, in order to
allow businesses time to adjust to the
new requirements, in most cases
companies will still be able to use the CE
marking until 1 January 2023.
The Fire Industry Association (FIA)
has been in constant communication
and dialogue with the Government
across the last 12 months and more,
voicing the concerns of the UK’s fire
safety industry on the potential impact
of implementing the new UKCA mark.
Rest assured that this matter is an
absolute priority for the FIA. It’s vitally
important that the Government
understands the impact that changing to
the UKCA regime will have, not only for
those businesses in the fire industry
whose task it is to keep buildings safe,
but also for the thousands of business
owners who rely on their buildings
being compliant such that they can
remain open.
During 2021, the FIA has been
working diligently, collaboratively and
tirelessly with its members through the
FIA UKCA Special Interest Group (SIG).
The majority of our members are
concerned about the UKCA mark due to
the fact that organisations selling goods
within Great Britain will need to affix
the new mark.
Significant cost
For the fire safety industry, thousands of
life safety products that were previously
able to be sold with a CE mark in Great
Britain prior to Brexit now need to go
through extensive and expensive re-certification.
This process is estimated to
cost our industry around £20 million at
a bare minimum.
Once again, organisations are having
to bear this cost, while trying to mitigate
the potentially business-threatening
effects of a pandemic. It’s also important
to state that the UKCA marking process
doesn’t add any value or quality to a
product. From our perspective, it’s just
unnecessary bureaucracy that has
emanated from Brexit.
The financial cost and time associated
with re-certification can only be
estimated as it’s unclear what level of
acceptance from both the European
Union (EU) and UK Notified Bodies
will be required. Additionally,
companies will have to re-label products
and product literature, in turn resulting
in a significant increase in cost.
For UK companies seeking to sell
their products in the EU and the UK,
they must now undergo dual product
certification which will cause major
UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA)
marking is a new UK product
marking for goods being placed
on the market in Great Britain
and covers most of those goods
which previously required the
CE marking. As Adam
Richardson observes, its
implementation has caused a
certain degree of concern
among the business community
on home shores