N Mark for fire hoses

Certification is the action carried out by an independent body, which manifests that an organisation, product, process or service meets the requirements defined in certain standards or technical specifications. AENOR marks prove this certification and constitute a distinguishing factor on the market, improving the image of products and services and building trust among customers and consumers:

• Trust in the organisation itself and in the clients, shareholders, employees, public administrations and social environment of the company.
  
• Trust in the quality and safety of its products and services.
  

The AENOR N certified product mark demonstrates compliance with certain standards. It is a symbol of product quality and safety, and is backed by an independent third party, AENOR, a leader in certification. The AENOR N Mark logo is recognised by public and private users, facilitating the sales of thousands of certified products around the world.

AENOR's N certified product marks are not mandatory; manufacturers can voluntarily submit their products to be fully assessed by independent agencies and specialists in order to objectively ensure that they comply with the quality and safety requirements set forth in the corresponding regulations. The AENOR N mark therefore supplements the CE mark for products covered by harmonised directives and regulations. AENOR N marks are of particular value to customers when the product at issue is not covered by a CE mark.

AENOR performs its own certification system in order to certify each product, which uses applicable standards, technical specifications, certification procedures and features.​

The N Mark for fire hoses covers the following products:

• Heavy-duty, flat, flexible delivery hoses UNE 23091-2B.
• Light-duty, flat, flexible delivery hoses UNE 23091-2A
• Flat, watertight fire hoses for fixed pressure water systems UNE-EN 14540.
• Semirigid fire hoses for fixed pressure water systems UNE-EN 694

As a compliance assessor, AENOR is a leading product certification entity. With over 100,000 certifications, the AENOR N Mark is present in over 40 countries and is in the top five most widely used product quality marks in the world.

The AENOR N Mark is a voluntary logo that enables a company to demonstrate that their product complies with the specific provision of a UNE, EN or ISO standard, or a technical specification. This display of conformity is based on rigorous monitoring of manufacturing processes and testing of end products carried out by AENOR, and enables holders of the N Mark to place their high-quality certified products on the market and to instil confidence in customers.

Royal Decree 314/2006, of 17 March, approving the Technical Building Code (CTE), is the regulatory framework that establishes the requirements that must be met by buildings in terms of basic safety and habitability aspects, established in Act 38/1999 of 5 November, on Building Standards (LOE).

The AENOR N Mark is recognised by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport as a CTE quality symbol. This recognition means that the Administration is sufficiently confident in the products certified under the AENOR N Mark considering that the use of these products in buildings contributes to compliance with the basic requirements set forth in legislation. For this reason, use of AENOR N Mark products benefits all agents involved in constructing a building.

This way, the AENOR N Mark provides the following advantages:

Royal Decree 513/2017, which approves the Regulation on Fire Protection Facilities (RIPCI), establishes that compliance with the requirements laid out therein for devices, equipment, systems or their components, must be proved, for products where this is relevant, which is the case with fire hydrants, through third-party certification that allows for the use of the corresponding mark, such as the AENOR Mark.

The certificate of conformity with standards established by the AENOR Mark for fire hoses proves compliance with the requirements of the RIPCI.

​APPLICATION

The AENOR Mark is voluntary. Companies that want AENOR to certify their product must submit their application in accordance with the formats established by AENOR. This application must include information about the company and the characteristics of the products for which certification is sought.

Once AENOR technical staff have analysed the documents, compliance assessment activities will be performed in order to verify that the products comply with the applicable standards:

AUDIT/INSPECTION

A visit is made to the production centre to carry out the following procedures:

• ​a) The quality management system is audited according to the requirements of UNE-EN ISO 9001 directly related to the production process.
• b) The manufacturer's manufacturing process and production controls are inspected to ensure the product complies with the requirements of the standard.
• c) Samples are taken and sent to an accredited laboratory, which performs the tests included in the standards. The manufacturer sends samples identified by the auditor to the laboratory.

TESTING

The laboratory performs the tests established by the standard and sends its report to AENOR.

GRANTING PROCEDURE

Using all the information on the activities performed, the Technical Certification Committee (independent body comprising all the interested parties: manufacturers, the Administration, users, monitoring entities and AENOR) will either propose to AENOR that the Mark be granted, or request that one of the activities be repeated due to non-compliance.

Once the Certificate has been granted, the process will continue as the monitoring activities required to keep it must be performed. Samples will be taken, and audits, inspections and tests will be performed on an annual basis. The results are assessed every year by the Technical Certification Committee which decides whether to maintain or remove the Mark.

Once the certification process has been successfully completed, the organisation obtains: ​ ​

• AENOR product certificate
  
• User licence for the AEN​​OR ​Mark of certified products
  

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