Certification of pipes and pipe products
Certification under the INSTA-CERT scheme provides a manufacturer
/importer with a licence for his products that is recognised throughout the Nordic countries. This is the result of the creation of common Nordic certification rules for a large number of pipe products. A single application for certification, in any one of the Nordic countries, is all that is now needed to obtain a licence.
The key documents that control certification are the General Terms and Conditions (GRC) and the product-specific certification rules (SBC). Both can be downloaded from INSTA-CERT's web site (see link on the right), together with an application form.
Applicants need first to obtain type-approval documentation from an accredited test body. The particular properties and dimensions to be type-tested are indicated in the type-testing tables in the respective SBCs.
In addition, an initial inspection of the manufacturer's premises is required in order to ensure that the quality documentation meets the requirements in Item 4.1.2 of the SBC, and that the manufacturer possesses the necessary knowledge and equipment to be able to perform the required internal inspection. Tables in the respective SBCs indicate the extent of the required inspection, which is divided up into Batch Release Tests (BRT) and Process Verification Tests (PVT). Appendix A in the SBC lists the accredited inspection bodies that may perform the initial inspection.
The manufacturer must enter into an agreement with an accredited test or inspection body for the required recurrent six-monthly external inspection: see Appendix A in the SBC.
A licence can be issued when the application, type-testing report, initial inspection report, and confirmation of contract with an approved inspection body have been submitted to the certification body. Details of the extent of the licence will be published on INSTA-CERT's web site when the licence is issued.
Costs
Information on costs of certification, application fees and annual fees will be provided by the proposed certification body. Costs for type-testing, initial inspection and external inspection will be provided by the inspection/test body.