Quality & certification
CE, FPC and the Declaration of Performance: what they mean for your window
Not simply paperwork — this is the technical documentation of the production process.
FPC is the organised system of factory production control. The Declaration of Performance and the CE marking apply where the relevant framework provides for them, and they document the characteristics of the product.
For the customer, the substance of it is that production follows controlled procedures and technical specifications.
What matters is not the logo but the Declaration of Performance: the document that accompanies the product and states the declared performances — watertightness, resistance to wind load, air permeability, thermal transmittance Uw, sound reduction — under the harmonised standard EN 14351-1, within the Construction Products Regulation (EU) 305/2011. FPC is the factory production control and is the manufacturer's responsibility; initial type testing is done at a notified laboratory. CE marking is a declaration by the manufacturer, not a third party's quality seal — so ask for the Declaration, not the mark.
What a Declaration of Performance says
Windows and external pedestrian doorsets fall under the harmonised standard EN 14351-1, within the Construction Products Regulation (EU) 305/2011. The Declaration of Performance is the document that accompanies the product and states:
- a unique code and the product type,
- the intended use,
- the essential characteristics with their declared performance — watertightness, resistance to wind load, air permeability, thermal transmittance Uw, sound reduction, load-bearing capacity of safety devices,
- and “NPD” where no performance is declared.
Who tests what
For most windows the assessment system is 3: initial type testing is done at a notified laboratory, while factory production control (FPC) is the manufacturer's responsibility. The fabricator may rely on the system supplier's tests, provided he builds strictly to their specification. That is precisely what “certified fabricator” of a series means.
CE marking is the manufacturer's own declaration, not a third-party quality seal. It is worth what the data behind it is worth — so ask for the Declaration of Performance, not just the logo.
