The Declaration of Performance (DoP) is a document issued by manufacturers of construction products that guarantees that the product conforms to the requirements of the Construction Products Directive and relevant CE marking. The DoP makes it possible to objectively compare products with the same reference standard and purpose, so products that are meant to be used in the same way can be objectively compared. The document is mandatory and legally binding: Signed by the company’s legal representative, it makes the manufacturer responsible for what is declared.
Each harmonized product standard contains a table that describes its essential characteristics and identifies the method for representing the results: testing method, unit of measure of the results, expression of the result in values or classes so that all products on the market use the same methods to present their results. The standard specifies that the DoP declares the result of at least one essential characteristic and the information needed to correctly identify the product.
It is important to note, however, that if the results of an essential characteristic are not declared in the DoP, they cannot be indicated on the Technical Data Sheet.
The Declaration of Performance is mandatory, in combination with the CE marking, and closely linked to the product characteristics specified by the Construction Products Directive (CPD), and this is legally binding for the manufacturer.
The DoP indicates the information already provided on the product label, together with the CE marking: It indicates the harmonized standard of reference and the purpose of the product, and the unique product identification code that permits its traceability.
Then the system used for evaluating the performance is identified, which reveals which quality control plan was implemented in the factory as well as the external certification body involved in the procedure. The document also provides a table listing the product’s essential characteristics and the relative results.
The Technical Data Sheet is issued upon the discretion of the manufacturer and can be reviewed at any time. As the name indicates, it contains information about product characteristics that may not be required by the regulation, but which are particular to the specific product.
In general, characteristics not related to the fundamental requirements of the Construction Products Directive are not generally considered essential.
Fundamental requirements of the Construction Products Directive can include:
The product standards account for the technical properties related to the fundamental requirements relevant to the purpose of use. All other aspects and the relative manufacturer information or commitments are provided on the Technical Data Sheet. The information on the Technical Data Sheet that concerns characteristics required by the CE regulation must also appear in the DoP and, obviously, have the same values or levels.
Practically speaking, the two documents complement each other: The DoP contains information common to all manufacturers of an item relative to a specific use and product standard; the Technical Data Sheet contains all of the other technical information and, in particular, information about each manufacturer and specific product characteristics that the legislature that created the standard did not deem necessary to be regulated or standardized.