The declaration of performance

What it verifies

The declaration of performance says what performance the product delivers for the characteristics the manufacturer declared. It does not say the product is “good” or “compliant” — it says how much.

Compliance follows from that: the designer states how much performance is needed at that location, and if the declared value covers it, the product may be installed there.

Who issues it

The manufacturer. Not the distributor, not the contractor, not the designer. It is the manufacturer’s responsibility that the declared value is real and that it can be maintained in production — which their factory production control ensures.

What is in it

• the unique identification code of the product type,
• the intended use,
• the name and address of the manufacturer,
• the system of assessment and verification of constancy of performance,
• the technical specification referred to: harmonised standard, ETA or national technical assessment,
• the declared performance for each characteristic,
• the signature of the manufacturer’s representative.

That last point is not a formality: with the signature the manufacturer takes responsibility.

Where the performance can come from

Three sources:

• a harmonised standard, where one exists for the product,
• a European Technical Assessment (ETA), where there is no harmonised standard or the product deviates significantly from it,
• a national technical assessment (NMÉ), for placing on the Hungarian market where neither a harmonised standard nor an ETA exists.

The most common faults in practice

It is not for the product installed

The declaration for a similar but different type is handed over. The type code is what has to be compared.

The key characteristic is missing

The declaration only gives values for the characteristics the manufacturer declared. If the designer expects a fire class and the declaration says “NPD” (no performance determined), the product cannot be used for that purpose.

The intended use does not match

The declaration states what the product was intended for. Installation for another purpose cannot rely on it.

What is changing now

The new EU regulation replaces the declaration of performance with the declaration of performance and conformity (DoPC), with a digital product passport. The old and the new systems live in parallel for a while. The new regulation.

The point

A declaration of performance is not a quality certificate but a data sheet with responsibility attached. The manufacturer states the value; the designer decides on compliance.