Q-Mark Systems House Scheme

On 2nd September 2024, the UK Government confirmed that the National Classes fire testing standards will be withdrawn from Approved Document B (England) in favour of the EN 13501 series of European classification standards. A transition period of 5 years was given by the UK Government for fire resisting construction products, meaning products such as fire resisting doorsets will need to be classified to EN 13501-2 for the relevant performance characteristics by 2nd September 2029.  

In response, BM TRADA has developed new Q-Mark schemes for the certification of doorsets and updated the existing Q-Mark Systems House Scheme to accommodate EN 13501-2 classification including fire resistance and smoke control performance.

This technical resource is for the updated Systems House Scheme. It covers:

• The role of a systems house
• The aim of the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme
• How the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme interacts with other BM TRADA Q-Mark Certification schemes
• The responsibilities of a Q-Mark certified systems house
• Minimum requirements for supporting evidence
• Audit testing requirements

What is a systems house?

A systems house is a product designer who submits an “assembled product” for initial type testing to determine the performance characteristics with the primary aim of making the supporting evidence available to manufacturers to construct products using their design specifications, initial type testing, processing and appropriate technical information.

It is a widely recognised route for supplying construction products to market where the same system design can be cascaded for construction by multiple manufacturers.

What is the purpose of a systems house?

A systems house provides a simplified route for a manufacturer to be able to construct and supply products to market, without having to conduct the research and development, and initial type testing themselves.

The systems house is responsible for maintaining the technical information that underpins the performance characteristics of the system that they are cascading to manufacturers. However, the performance of the product supplied to market is under the responsibility of the manufacturer.

It is important, therefore, that there is an understanding between the systems house and the manufacturer that outlines the responsibilities and activities of each party.  

What is the aim of the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme?

Given the role and responsibilities of the systems house, it is important that the cascaded technical information is appropriately managed under a defined system.  

The aim of the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme is to provide added assurance to both manufacturers and end users that the technical information is correctly documented and controlled. This includes contractual arrangements between the relevant parties.

The Q-Mark Systems House Scheme also provides feedback loops – for example, being able to provide relevant information from audit tests conducted by manufacturers. This can provide the systems house with confidence in the product’s consistent performance and also helps identify any potential reduced performance from that expected.  

How does the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme interact with other Q-Mark Certification schemes?

The systems house has a defined scope of certification of the designs that they can cascade to manufacturers under the appropriate Q-Mark scheme.  

The systems house designs will be linked to the supporting evidence for that design which will also be identified on the scope of certification for the systems house.  

The appropriate supporting evidence will be cascaded to the manufacturer under the relevant Q-Mark Certification schemes. The design and relevant supporting evidence will be identified on the manufacturer’s scope of certification, allowing the end user to identify what supporting evidence was used to manufacture the certified product.

What is a Q-Mark certified systems house responsible for?

Each systems house will have responsibility for their own cascaded design specifications under the following controls:

• Identify which companies have had which system cascaded to them.
• Provide permission for the use of each system.
• Effectively manage updates, amendments, suspensions or withdrawals of the system from Q-Mark Certification. Any revisions to documentation on the Q-Mark Systems House scope must be immediately communicated to BM TRADA and the revised document cascaded to all Q-Mark certified companies that have this on their scope of certification. Requests for adding new documentation to the Q-Mark Systems House scope of certification must be communicated to BM TRADA and certified prior to cascading to others.
• Be involved with the pre-certification and audit test process required for Q-Mark certified manufacturers.  
• Provide feedback to BM TRADA in the event of a reduced performance test of a cascaded system by a Q-Mark certified manufacturer.
• Provide a technical manual including critical storage, handling, Factory Production Control (FPC) requirements, critical manufacturing processes and controls (e.g. adhesive application) and specific installation instructions for each design specification cascaded.
• Supply supporting evidence to the Q-Mark certified manufacturer, e.g.Extended Field of Application (EXAP) and associated classification report. In addition, make available to BM TRADA all supporting evidence including test evidence and sampling reports.
• Provide training and technical assistance to Q-Mark certified manufacturers for each system.
• Have Q-Mark audits to demonstrate compliance with the certification scheme requirements.

Do the components of the system designs cascaded by the systems house require third party certification?

Third party certification schemes are designed to ensure consistency of product conformity and the standard of workmanship being provided (e.g. Certifire or Q-Mark) and can be used to evidence that the manufacturer has a suitable system of FPC.  

The following components require third party certification.

Door leaf/blank

For manufacturing Q-Mark certified doorsets for both National and European classification applications, door leaf/blanks, as approved in the relevant supporting evidence for the system design, must have third party certification provided by Q-Mark.

Other components

For manufacturing Q-Mark certified doorsets with fire resistance and/or smoke control from 2nd September 2029, the following components must have certification under WTCL (e.g. Certifire or Q-Mark) and/or be CE/UKCA marked, where required:

• Closers, hinges and locksets
• Intumescent and/or smoke seals
• Glass.

What supporting evidence can a systems house cascade under the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme?

As a minimum, the systems house can cascade the document that provides the field of application for the system design. In addition, the systems house shall make available to BM TRADA all supporting evidence including test evidence and sampling reports.

Supporting evidence is a critical aspect of establishing a product’s performance to the relevant test standard and must meet specific requirements to be considered for the purpose of certification based on impartiality, performance and relevance. The requirements for supporting evidence to be used within the Q-Mark certification schemes for manufacturers are given in the relevant scheme technical document. Warringtonfire has produced specific technical information sheets on acceptable test evidence for use within the third party certification schemes operated by Warringtonfire Testing Certification Limited (WTCL) trading as BM TRADA.

What doorset types are covered by the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme?

The Q-Mark Systems House Scheme is not specific for any one type of doorset and has been designed to facilitate the management and cascading of supporting evidence within all the existing Q-Mark doorset manufacturers’ certification schemes, covering timber, metal and composite doorsets.  

Do Q-Mark certified systems houses have to undertake audit testing?

Audit testing of the system design is not normally undertaken by the systems house as it is covered by the manufacturer’s audit testing requirements.  

The systems house is made aware when a manufacturer is required to conduct an audit test on their system and is encouraged to liaise with that manufacturer.

All audit tests that have indicated a shortfall in the expected performance and require further investigation from the systems house are fed back to the systems house via the manufacturer and/or directly by BM TRADA. This enables the systems house to take appropriate action to help ensure ongoing consistency in the system design’s performance.

What activities will BM TRADA undertake under the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme?

BM TRADA will audit each systems house and take into account the following areas:

1. Confirm validity of each system design specification under Q-Mark Certification
2. Confirmation of initial type testing, pre-certification tests or audit test results relating to any system design specification covered under Q-Mark Certification
3. Documented procedures
4. Purchase and delivery controls
5. FPC documented critical requirements
6. Critical storage and conditioning requirements
7. Marking and traceability of any components supplied for a system design specification.

Please note: This is not an exhaustive list.

How does the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme provide added assurance to the end user?

The performance of the product supplied by the manufacturer is reliant on the quality and consistency of the supporting evidence. The Q-Mark Systems House Scheme provides transparency related to the management of the certified system, including feedback on product performance established by ongoing manufacturer audit testing and FPC.

The certification scheme provides confidence to manufacturers that the cascaded designs should be capable of the indicated performance, which in turn provides assurance of the product performance to the end users.

Is the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme limited to EN classification?

The Q-Mark Systems House Scheme has been updated to accommodate the EN classification system but can be used with supporting evidence generated for use with other Q-Mark Certification schemes.

Do I need to join the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme?

Any company that wishes to cascade systems to manufacturers for the purpose of manufacturing Q-Mark certified products must be certified within the Q-Mark Systems House Scheme. See certification process flow below. 

Download this Technical Information Sheet