Most frequently asked questions in FAQs:
Q. What is a product set?
Q. What are safety critical products?
Q. How long does the Verification process take?
Q. How much does it cost?
What is the Code for Construction Product Information?
The Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI) seeks to provide greater confidence in product information, whether written in a brochure, a presentation, or on a website or social media, used by specifiers and users of product information when making design decisions, installing, using and/or maintaining verified products.
The Code is an 11-clause set of minimum requirements that promotes positive culture and behaviour change in the approach and management of product information by the construction product manufacturing industry.
The Code covers critical aspects from responsibility for product information, to accuracy of and clarity of performance claims made, general information and competency.
How does the CCPI work?
An independent and robust assessment and validation process underpins the Code to help to give more confidence in the provision and management of product information by all stakeholders, setting the market for UK construction products ahead of others.
The CCPI assessment and validation process consists of a product safety-related leadership and culture survey, verification of organisations’ product information management systems, and validation of specific product set evidence submitted for the eleven clauses that make up the CCPI, promoting accuracy in the creation, communication and management of ‘Construction Product Information’.
Manufacturers sign up to undertake the assessment and validation process in relation to their product information and upon successful completion will receive a CCPI verification mark for their verified product set.
What qualifies the CPI Verifiers?
CPI Verifiers undergo a robust recruitment process before being selected. Verifiers are self-employed professionals who have a background in other high hazard industries, such as science and/or engineering from a manufacturing, construction, standards or regulatory environment. They have experience of audit, certification and/or assessment processes and have ability to effectively communicate and consult with stakeholders regarding product information management. In addition, they have experience of reviewing product information accuracy.
Who can be part of CCPI?
The CCPI is open to any organisation that is involved in the manufacturing or distribution of own brand products used in the construction of buildings and structures in the UK.
CCPI is launching a Merchants and Distributors version of the Code, along with a Supporters Offer for contractors and clients.
How long do you expect the CCPI Verification Process to take?
From the CCPI the first wave of registrations in 2023, the average time to complete the whole process for at least one product set is 2-3 months; however, this will depend entirely on how prepared the manufacturer is for the assessment and verification process. Some organisations have been successfully completed the assessment and verification process in a matter of weeks.
Please bear in mind, that undertaking the Leadership and Culture Survey alongside completion of the Management System Questionnaire is the most efficient way of submitting the Organisation Assessment.
Those companies with a committed Code Lead who is able to push the survey and collate the responses to the questions in the Management System Questionnaire and the Product Set Submission(s) have been most efficient in going through the assessment and verification process.
How long is the CCPI verification mark valid for?
The Verification Mark will be valid for up to two years depending on the timeframes in which product sets are submitted for validation and verified as conforming with the relevant clauses of the Code, after a manufacturer has successfully completed and passed through the Organisation Assessment.
In order to maintain your uniquely numbered CCPI Verification Mark you must have a live, ongoing registration. If your registration lapses, then your Product Set Verification Mark also lapses – in which case you can no longer demonstrate conformance with the Code and must remove the relevant Verification Mark(s) from your product information. You will then need to start the whole verification process from the start when you re-register.
Given the lead time between specification, first spade in the ground and client handover can be many years, how does a 2 year time limited “verification” support the intended aims?
As the Product Set Submission is intended to be renewed every two years. The Verification Mark should provide comfort that any changes in the products have been detailed in the product information so that time lags between specification and installation of construction products, are not an issue.
CCPI have developed a Supporter Offer which will ask clients, users and specifiers of construction products to commit to promoting the use of verified products, and thus encouraging the adoption of the Verification Mark across the sector. Brief details can be found here.
How much does it cost to sign up to CCPI?
A Registration and Organisation Assessment fee will be charged, valid for two years, based on the registering organisations turnover in the UK. On successful completion of the assessment, you will proceed to Product Set Verification, at which point Verification fee is charged, valid for up to two years, as above. See website for more details.
What if you are small subsidiary (micro) of a large European manufacturer, how is the assessment fee decided?
The registration and Organisation Assessment fee will be based on your turnover in the UK, as CCPI will currently only verify product information for construction products sold in the UK. Please note though that you may be required to include employees from other locations within the scope of your Leadership and Culture Survey, particularly where for instance, your Management System for Product Information is managed elsewhere.
Do you have to pay the initial fee again when you’re ready to do a new product set?
No – the registration and Organisation Assessment Fee is paid on renewal, every two years. There is a fee for each product set submission.
However, if you have more than one Management System for Product Information, there may be an additional fee for Verification of additional Management Systems relating to additional product set submissions.
Who runs CPI Ltd?
Construction Product Information Ltd (CPI Ltd) is a not-for-profit organisation set up to administer and provide verification for CCPI. It is governed by an independent Chair and Non-Executive Directors and continues to be supported and owned by Construction Products Association.
Does CCPI support the coming Construction Products Competency framework, or vice versa?
The CCPI and the proposed construction products competence (CPC) standard have been designed from the beginning to work in tandem. As such, those who have been developing the CCPI have had input from the CPC white paper development team, and CPI Ltd were intrinsic in the development of the white paper. The CPC standard can be used to aid the demonstration of clause 11 in the CCPI. CPC is intended for both those creating product information, and for those interpreting it. From CPA’s perspective, they are considered the ‘yin and yang’ of appropriate product creation, selection, and use.
What is the process for CCPI Verification?
CPI Ltd uses a specially developed online CCPI Verification Portal to gather responses from participating organisations to demonstrate how they meet the requirements of the verification framework. Each organisation will nominate a Code Lead for each product set they submit for verification.
The Code Lead is the main point of contact. Clearly the senior management team set the tone on culture, etc. but are not the people/person getting ‘stuff’ done. The Code Lead should be viewed as the project owner who is responsible for ensuring that everyone involved is informed and obtains all the necessary permissions.
The Code Lead oversees the uploading of the necessary information, data, and evidence that shows how the organisation’s product set(s) meet all eleven clauses of the CCPI.
The Code Lead must first complete a set of preliminary questions in order to tailor the survey and questionnaires for your organisation. These questions include details of organisation turnover, organisation size and structure.
After entering the preliminary information, your organisation can progress through the five key steps of the CCPI assessment and verification process – you must successfully achieve all five steps to use the licensed mark for your product set(s):
- Leadership & Culture Survey
- Management Systems Questionnaire
- Organisation Assessment
- Product Set Submission
- Product Set Verification
Do you expect the Code Lead to be a separate person to the person responsible for the product set?
The Code Lead can be the same person as that responsible for the product set, but it doesn’t have to be. Many organisations register and submit multiple product sets so it might be unlikely the Code Lead would be the responsible person for all of them.
What is a product set?
A product set is defined by either:
- a group of similar Construction Products fulfilling a common purpose certified to the same standard(s) and in relation to which the same Product Information, or similar Product Information (differing only to reflect the individual sizes, performance levels or characteristics of each Construction Product), is used for all the Construction Products within the group;
Or
- a group of dissimilar Construction Products supplied as a system fulfilling a defined function where all products required for the system to function are submitted as part of that set and in relation to which a single set of Product Information is used for all the Construction Products within the group.
Where these are similar products, we would not differentiate them by size or colour (etc.) unless that made a change to the performance of the product in a safety critical way. Therefore, generally products forming a similar purpose with similar performance characteristics would be submitted as one product set.
For example, a grouping of products could be a collection of different plaster boards that are certified to the same standard(s) but are available in different sizes and widths; or a collection of drainage pipes, again certified to the same standard, but available on different lengths, widths and colours. i.e., set of products can be grouped according to a standard, for example BS EN12101-2 / BS EN12010-8 etc.
For product systems, all products that are required for a system to function and are supplied by the manufacturer as part of that product set, must be included in submission.
A product system could be a double-glazed window sold with the glazing, frame, seal, hinges and handles included as a system (i.e. sold as a single product), with the individual parts being available only as spares.
CPI acknowledge that identifying what makes up a product set or system might, in some cases, not be clear, so we are happy to have conversations with manufacturers before they register if it is helpful. Please contact equiries@cpicode.org.uk if you would like to discuss your product sets / systems.
Can I verify a product system and the individual products that make up the system?
The verification approach taken by CPI for submitted products sets for systems is two-fold:
- Any performance claims made for the system would be validated against the test data available (whether it be certification, classification, or independent tests). If the manufacturer only sells the system and does not market the individual components, then no further verification would be required.
- If in addition to marketing the system, the manufacturer also sells the components for other than as spares from within that product set (or other purposes) then the performance claims for these products can also be verified in a separate set in an additional submission against test data – which case a separate mark will be issued.
Corroboration of product information – are you expecting to gather this data directly from test houses? Or are you trusting the manufacturer to supply the correct information?
We will expect manufacturers to provide all the correct evidence of testing, certification and classification for their submitted products. We will not be directly gathering data from test houses. We will sample the product information submitted against the evidence provided and any anomalies found may result in the product set being verified as not conforming with the Code, and thus no Verification mark will be issued.
Please note that the purpose of CCPI is to build trust in the construction products sector so that there is greater confidence in product information supplied to users, specifiers, installers and clients. We verify your culture through the Leadership and Culture Survey and Management Systems Questionnaires, as well as through the Product Set Submission.
If information is intellectual property e.g. a confidential fire report, is required for evidence, why should it be made publicly available via a web site for verification?
The intellectual property of any registering organisation remains confidential at all times and will never be published by CPI Ltd. The data submitted is used in the assessment and verification process by the Verifiers only, to check that you conform with the relevant clauses of the Code – this data and evidence will be held securely in our Portal and never shared.
Not all performance products have either certification or classification. Is Test evidence e.g. (BS476-22) acceptable?
Yes, evidence that is within the bounds of current regulation is acceptable. Please provide supporting documentation that corroborates all claims that your product information makes in relation to standards or performance. Please see clause 5 for the minimum requirements.
Could you please clarify how the CCPI scheme differs from the mandatory testing, assessment and certification process associated with AVCP 1 construction products whereby products are independently tested, assessed and certified by a state appointed Notified Body?
The CCPI verification process starts with organisational assessment which looks to measure the maturity of a business in terms of its culture, management information systems & process before verifying product sets. Once the assessment is complete and the company satisfactorily passes the verification that the organisation is sufficiently structured and efficient to demonstrate that the correct product information is front of mind at necessary levels of the business, they will review the product information, checking that its accuracy, clarity, unambiguity, accessibility & recency are in line with the evidence provided. The Verifier is not duplicating or checking the AVCP work but confirming that the output is correctly represented in the product information being published.
Please note that CCPI is a voluntary assessment and verification scheme.
What about products that we buy in to make up our system?
The quality and claims made about any supplied product are often material to the overall performance of a system. Ideally, a manufacturer who buys in a product to create their system would be buying a product that carries recognised certification or testing regarding its performance, and ultimately a CCPI verification. In support of Clause 7 “The Manufacturer must demonstrate an internal process for reviewing the accuracy of the Product Information against manufactured bought-in-product…” CPI verifiers would seek to understand how this is done by the manufacturer for any bought in product and validate it.
Does the CCPI include a check of how product changes are communicated to customers?
Yes, CCPI Verification will require you to upload details of your change management process to ensure conformance with the Code, with particular regard to clause 7.
What mechanism are you using to define what is a system and what is a product. Is there a convention you are relying on, i.e. is this aligned to Material Passports, Uniclass, IFC, SFG20?
CCPI have provided a definition for manufacturers to use to determine what a product set is for them. We are more than happy to work with manufacturers where a product set is not clear cut. The key point to remember is that the product set should relate directly to how the products are marketed and sold, and how the Product Information is supplied. Sets should also take into account how the products have been tested and the claims that are made.
Please see here for the definition of a product set.
Is there a plan to find a way to link ‘product sets’ to existing product groups or classifications already being used in the sector?
There are no current plans to link product sets to existing groupings, however, when the Code is evaluated and reviewed in 2024, this may fall into the scope of the review at that point.
How much of this is covered by ISO Audits e.g. 9001?
ISO9001 Quality Management accreditation will provide a strong input to the Management Information System verification questionnairequestionnaire but does not cover the whole of the Management System Questionnaire or relevant clauses. Organisations will still have to complete the Leadership & Culture survey before progressing to product set submission stage.
Does it have to be the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) that puts a product forward or can a distributer/agent submit a product?
For the purposes of CCPI, a manufacturer of construction products includes those that own-brand products produced by others, and importers where they are putting the product on the market in the UK from elsewhere.
Please note that an adapted Code for Distributors and Merchants is being launched soon.
What are Safety Critical construction products?
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has informally defined Safety Critical construction products as those that “in the view of the Secretary of State any failure of the product would risk causing death or serious injury to any person.
- structural steelwork
- all external cladding systems/materials
- roof systems
- construction products with a fire suppression and retardation property (i.e. fire doors, but not internal doors without a fire rating), fire stops and intumescent materials
If the Regulator publishes a formal definition of a Safety Critical product, CPI will use this definition. Any product included in the proposed list of Safety Critical products will thus be defined by CPI as Safety Critical for the purposes of verification.
Non-Safety Critical are all other construction products, known by CPI as General Construction Products.
NB. The term Safety Critical products should not be confused with the term Safe Products. All construction products should be Safe, as described by the OPSS.
Is there a limit to the number of products in a set?
CPI use a recognised sampling methodology to verify product information depending on the number of products in the submitted set(s) or system(s). If multiple product sets are submitted at the same time, the sample size is calculated using the total number of products across all the sets. If the size of the set falls outside of the sampling boundaries then the set will be limited and a further set will be defined.
Will you be considering environmental claims as well?
The short answer is yes, we will be covering environmental claims. The purpose of the Code is to ensure that the claims manufacturers make about the performance of their products is accurate, up to date, clear, accessible, and unambiguous, so environmental claims will be included. Please look at the ‘Words and Phrases to Avoid’ document on our website for more detail of the wording we have identified so far that should be avoided or qualified here.
Is there a need for sector specific words and phrases that shouldn’t be used?
CCPI see the Trade Associations (TAs)as leading sector specific work but are more than happy to support them in devising guidance. In supporting TAs to develop their own guidance we will also be able to identify more terms that are common across sectors to add to our CCPI’s published list.
Leadership & Culture Survey – how is this distributed, by CCPI or by the manufacturer?
The CCPI Verification Portal sets the minimum number of valid responses from your submitted number of employees – typically the required number of valid responses is between 30 and 60, or 75% of your employees if you are a very small organisation. The portal also sets the number of responses required from each level of hierarchy, department and location in your organisation as identified from the preliminary information you supplied.
The Code Lead is required to arrange distribution of the survey either via company email using the supplied online link, or through the portal. In either option, CCPI will supply suggested briefing text which can be adapted to explain the purpose of the survey to the chosen respondents.
Selected respondents use the link in the email to set up a login for them individually. Once done, the respondent can come back to their responses at a later time if they are unable to complete the survey in one go.
NB. If using the CCPI Portal, please note that emails may more often end up in junk folders as the link will be from an unrecognised email address.
For the Leadership and Culture Survey, as there are different management structures within organisations, how would the system “know” how many people at each level within my organisation?
The Code Lead enters preliminary details about their organisation including the total number of employees, numbers of employees at each level of hierarchy, department, and location. The Portal then uses an algorithm to generate a statistically relevant minimum response rate for the Survey.
Please note, that we suggest you distribute the Survey link to more employees that required, to allow for those who do not respond.
See also the question above ‘What is the process for CCPI Verification?’.
Will you have training slides and other material we could use to train the respondents of the Survey?
We will not be providing training material for the Leadership and Culture Survey as responses should be instinctive perceptions of your organisation. We will however provide some suggested email text for respondents that you can adapt, explaining the purpose of the survey and the link to register for it.
Are there any case studies / people we can talk to who have gone through the process?
There are case studies in the CCPI newsletters, please find these on our website here. If you have questions which aren’t covered in these FAQs, please contact us via email to enquiries@cpicode.org.uk
Our manufacturing staff don’t use systems / information and would know little as to product information – do they have to be included in the scope of the Leadership and Culture Survey?
It is important that the Leadership and Culture Survey go to representative sample of relevant employees. So, whilst manufacturing staff may know little about the information produced for your products, they could potentially influence change management of your products, for example, so should be included. It is for you to decide who gets the link to the survey – if on verification the Verifier doesn’t feel you have a representative sample, they can ask you to send out more links to the survey to capture a more representative sample.
Similarly, we are part of an organisation of 250 employees, however only 1/3 of the organisation is linked to the manufacture of construction products. Then there would be fewer than 60 employees linked to Construction Products and probably only 10 employees who may influence Product Information. How would this be dealt with in terms of the sample survey request for min. 60 employees?
In instances such as those described in this question, we will work with you to identify the relevant sample size but please consider that sales, marketing, HR, IT, etc. could all be in scope for the survey.
Will we be able to see the Leadership & Culture responses?
Although the Code Lead or other manager(s) will know who the survey has been sent to, all responses will be anonymous – respondents will not be recognisable to the company. The Code Lead however will be able to see the number of responses submitted at each level of hierarchy and whether they are valid or not. The Code Lead can therefore arrange for more survey links to be distributed if required.
As part of the Organisation Assessment, the CCPI Verifier may contact a sample of respondents to validate their submissions, the feedback from these will also remain anonymous.
The Code Lead will be provided, as part of the Organisation Assessment report, anonymous analysis of the survey responses, along with a summary of the follow-up the CCPI Verifier has made, highlighting areas of good practice and where improvement might be suggested.
Do you expect the Code Lead to be a separate person to the person responsible for the product set?
The Code Lead can be the same person as that responsible for the product set, but it doesn’t have to be. Many organisations, after the first few waves, may submit multiple product sets so it might be unlikely the Code Lead would be the responsible person for all of them.
How will verification of Products be recognised?
Once the processes outlined above are successfully completed, a uniquely numbered CCPI Verification Mark, Certificate and Schedule for each product set or system that has been successfully verified will be issued.
Please note: the CCPI Verification Mark is for use only on verified product information in that set / system – CCPI is not an organisation wide verification. If you have more than one product set successfully verified, you will have a different Mark for each set.
How can I check if a product and its information is CCPI Verified?
CCPI will be developing an online Product Directory which will supply contractors and clients with a comprehensive list of products verified against the Code for Construction Product Information.
Once you complete the full verification process, can we apply a CCPI verified logo/stamp/mark to our website, literature & media posts?
Yes. The CCPI Verification Mark awarded is for use on verified product and system information only and can thus be used on your website for the verified product information only. It cannot be used a company wide mark, or used for any purpose other than on the relevant product information.
Does the CCPI mark mean a product is safe?
The Code for Construction Product Information does not regulate or assess the safety of any product or product sets. The mark refers only to the product set product information. It is a confirmation that the Product Information published by a construction product manufacturer for a specific product set is clear, accurate, up-to-date, accessible and unambiguous.
Does CCPI verify products manufactured outside of the UK?
CCPI does not currently verify construction product information for product sold in the UK to the construction sector, regardless of where they were manufactured. If a company imports products that are manufactured outside the UK they act as the manufacturer for CCPI, and thus for the product information to be verified they would need to conform with the 11 clauses of the Code.
Does an organisation have to submit ALL of its Product sets for verification or just those which it wants to?
No – it is up to each manufacturer how many sets / systems they wish to submit at a time depending on their own business rationale.
Many manufacturers of Construction Products sell through Distributors and Merchants – who then market the products via their own platforms and channels. Will there be a mechanism for distributors and merchants to have their “marketing materials” for product information?
The CPI Ltd are developing an adapted Code for merchants and distributors which should be launched later in the year.
For products that a merchant sells under their own brand, they are effectively considered as the manufacturer, as they have ‘control’ over the product information supplied for the product – merchants selling their own branded products that another company makes are therefore eligible to register.
In these instances, CCPI recognise that the product information maybe outside of a manufacturers control. However, updated product information should be available to the merchant from the manufacturer so they can meet the requirements of the Code.
Where a Manufacturer allows their Product Information to be reproduced, for example by a merchant, the Manufacturer must ensure that they provide updated Product Information in a timely manner, however the Merchant remains responsible for ensuring that they update published Product Information appropriately.
If we have signed up for schemes such as BSI Identify, how will they compare or compliment CCPI? And will schemes like the BSI Identify feed into CCPI? Is there any conflict between the CCPI Verification Mark and the BSI kitemark?
Schemes like BSI Identify and others complement the Code as they add tracking & unique identification to products that CCPI have verified, so that the Product Information supplied is up to date and accessible – two of the five acid tests for CCPI.
It’s important to remember that the CCPI Verification Mark can only be used on product information for verified product sets and should not be confused with other third-party assessments.