EN Standard Voice Alarm Systems Requires Conformity Assessment Procedure

The transition periods for two EN standards will soon be coming to an end. As of April 1 2011, a conformity assessment procedure in accordance with the harmonized standards EN 54-16 (for the construction products of fire alarm systems and microphones) and EN 54-24 (for speakers), will be required by law for the components of voice alarm systems and is to be carried out by an organization authorized to do so.

This certification must be arranged by the manufacturer of the devices (or the "party responsible for bringing the devices onto the market"). Only devices that achieve positive results in the conformity assessment procedure may then be utilized in voice alarm systems and marked with the CE symbol for the free movement of goods in Europe. Given that the devices are to be regarded as subsystems of fire detection and fire alarm systems, it must also be demonstrated that the components are compatible with each other. This requires testing in accordance with DIN EN 54-13 to be carried out.

Service provider, VdS, will be happy to perform these tests and assessment processes for you. We also offer initial tests (acceptance tests) for operators and builders as required by building law. In this respect, speech intelligibility measurements are also particularly important alongside the testing of the systems in the case of voice alarm systems.

More information: Representative for Fire Detection and Alarm Systems and Voice Alarm Systems: Horst Berger Tel.: +49-221-7766-125 (hberger@vds.de)