Four kinds of documents

A classification report (EN 13501) describes reaction to fire or fire resistance of a product or building element. A European Technical Assessment (ETA) assesses the performance of essential product characteristics for the stated intended use. It is not a blanket approval for any roof assembly. A system assessment, for example by FM Approvals, judges a complete assembly with defined components. A data sheet states properties without being an assessment itself. None of the four replaces the others.

Read the scope first

In every document look for: product name and version, thickness, substrate, fixing pattern, tested scenario and direction of exposure. Compare these point by point with your roof. Every deviation is a question for the supplier or designer; no deviation is unimportant until someone has assessed it.

Match the product and assembly to the evidence

An FM emblem or a classification on a manufacturer’s website belongs to that product in that assembly. Check that the product, configuration and scope named in the report match the proposal. That is why we publish reference values with their sources and supply the documents of the specific board or system selected with the proposal. The project file should contain the relevant version of each document, the section of the actual build-up, the list of deviations and who assessed them.

The most useful evidence demonstrably applies to the assembly that is actually built.