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GAI supports
members
after BREXIT
In the wake of the Referendum vote to
leave Europe, the Guild of Architectural
Ironmongers (GAI) has published a new
technical briefing on the impact of Brexit
on European architectural ironmongery
and door hardware standards.
»»“THE SIMPLE MESSAGE IS
one of no change, at least for a
couple of years,” says Douglas
Masterson, technical manager of
the GAI.
‘we are still a
member of the
European Union
for at least the
next two years’
“While the UK is in some
political and economic upheaval
at the moment, you must
remember that we are still a
member of the European Union
for at least the next two years.
A withdrawal agreement must
now be negotiated, but the legal
situation today is currently exactly
the same as it was last month.
“Most of the product standards
for door hardware and related
products were developed over
the past 20 years or more by
CEN, the European Committee
for Standardisation. The UK has
provided the convenor of the
CEN working group responsible
for building hardware since its
inception in the late 1980s.
“And although it’s based in
Brussels, CEN is entirely separate
from the European Commission
and is not part of the EU structure.
Membership of CEN is through a
country’s National Standards Body.
In our case, this is the BSI, and our
membership is not related to our
position within the EU. We have
heard no suggestion whatsoever
that the UK wants to withdraw
from membership of CEN.”
However, the GAI is looking
at the complexities that arise
from ‘harmonised standards’
which are compulsory under
the Construction Products
Regulations, unlike the use of
many other BS EN standards, and
which underpin the requirements
for CE Marking.
The list of these harmonised
standards covers much of the
hardware on fire and smoke
control doors used internally and
on escape routes, including single
axis hinges, door closing devices,
locks and latches, panic and
emergency exit hardware.
Douglas Masterson says:
“The Construction Products
Regulations and legal
requirements for CE Marking
are still firmly in place. So those
harmonised standards must
continue to be observed.
“The CE Mark, when applied to
ironmongery products, is there
to help customers be certain that
the item they are being offered
will perform well and help to
ensure a safe environment for the
building users for many years.
‘Any manufacturer who exports
goods to any EU Member State
is also still going to be required
to comply with CE Marking’
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | SEP/OCT 2016
“Any manufacturer who exports
goods to any EU Member State
is also still going to be required
to comply with CE Marking in
order to place their product on
the market there. That will remain
the case, even if the UK decides
in due course to make such
standards voluntary in the UK.
“We must also keep in mind
that many GAI members are
working in the Gulf, Asia and
other regions of the world where
British and EU standards are
routinely specified as a mark of
quality and reliability. We do
not anticipate that changing as a
result of Brexit.”
The GAI has a wide range of
guides to standards available to
download from the members’
area of its website, at www.gai.
org.uk/members/technical-area/
standards. These explain not only
what each standard is itself, but
also provides some information
on the products it relates to.
Further technical advice is also
available via the GAI’s technical
helpline.