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IECEx EN 54-23
The IECEx Scheme is an international From 1 March 2013 onwards, fire alarm systems
Conformity Assessment Scheme covering must have, according to EN 54, visual and/or
Electrical Equipment for Explosive visual-audible signaling devices which comply
Atmospheres, as the Internationally accepted with EN 54-23 requirements. That means that all
means of demonstrating conformity with IEC visual alarm devices (VADs) which do not have
Standards prepared by IEC TC31. the necessary certification will also lose their
national approval (e.g. VdS) and may no longer
UKOOA/PFEER be used for new installations. There is therefore
In summary these regulations state the an acute need for action for the following groups
person or company responsible for an of companies and professionals: planners/
installation is also responsible for protecting specifiers, fire detection technology experts,
persons on the installation from fire and system integrators and manufacturers of fire
explosion and securing effective emergency alarm systems, electrical installers and
response. This implies many requirements, specialist companies as well as building
one of them being that a suitable means of operators in all countries in the EU.
informing people on the installation of certain
alarm states (with sounders and or speech / VdS
PA systems, beacons may also be required to The approval procedure VdS 2344 is
supplement the audible signals). primarily offered for products (components,
equipment and systems) in the areas of fire
EN 54-3 protection and safety technology; it can,
EN 54-3 is the European standard for voice however, in some cases also be used for other
alarm products. It is part of the European products. VdS is accredited by the Deutsche
Union’s Construction Products Directive. The Akkreditierungsstelle Technik (DATech)
use of EN 54 certified products for all new according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 for the
voice alarm installations became mandatory testing of products and according to DIN EN
in April 2011. Originally introduced as a 45011 for the certification of products.
European standard for fire alarm systems,
EN 54 has now been extended to cover voice INMETRO
evacuation to meet a growing trend in the Inmetro standards, short for The Instituto
market towards integration of fire alarm Nacional de Metrologia, Normalização e
and voice evacuation systems. EN 54 offers Qualidade Industrial or the National Institute
support in the creation of a safer environment of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial
for staff and the general public in premises Quality, establish measurement and quality
where these systems are used, competitive standards in Brazil. Within Brazil, Inmetro
advantage for value added resellers (VARs) standards are responsible for the activities of
and integrators, as well as greater clarity for accreditation of certification bodies, inspection
those involved in specification. bodies, product performance verification bodies
and training bodies, and for the activities of
accredita.
