TR EAEU 043: Technical Solutions and the 28-Sample Rule

What changed in 2020?

TR EAEU 043/2017, On the requirements for fire safety and fire extinguishing equipment, came into force in 2020 and replaced the national fire regulations, partly in some member states, entirely in others. That made importing fire equipment into the Eurasian Economic Union simpler in principle: one regulation instead of five.

It also introduced a great many new standards and requirements, policed by each government’s authorised certification bodies. And there are very few certification bodies able to run the necessary tests and issue TR EAEU 043 certificates.

The same constraint applies to declarations. The only schemes available under this regulation are 3d for series, 4d for a batch, and 6d for series with a manufacturer’s site audit, and all three require test reports, so testing can only be done in accredited EAEU fire laboratories.

What does certification under TR EAEU 043 involve?

Take water spray nozzles, used as metering devices to control the flow of water and other spray liquids. They fall under TR EAEU 043 and need a certificate of conformity.

The process itself is familiar:

1. Registration of the application, approved by both the manufacturer and the certification body
2. Site audit with selection of samples, available by video conference where travel is not possible
3. Testing of the samples in an EAEU-accredited laboratory
4. Issuance of the certificate

The differences are in the detail.

Every type is tested, even though one certificate covers them all

Many nozzle types can be claimed on a single certificate. All of them will appear on it, and every one of them must be tested. Nozzle type is normally defined by K-factor, so the number of K-factors equals the number of types, which equals the number of test reports needed.

The sample counts are not negotiable

The standard for water spray nozzles requires 28 samples of each type. Manufacturers meeting that figure for the first time tend to assume it is a mistake. It is not, and there is no route around it: it is a nationally developed requirement.

Settle this before quoting. A manufacturer not prepared to supply that many samples should reconsider the project before starting it.

Technical documentation

TR EAEU 043 is a strict regulation, and the documents have to comply fully with what the standards require. There are various standards for fire equipment documentation, and the file needs a full technical description with the relevant specifications, drawings and so on.

One document is always required: the technical passport. It must be in the Union’s working language, developed by the manufacturer, and compliant with the GOST governing technical documents. For nozzles it has to carry:

• General descriptions
• K-factors
• Service life
• Requirements for resistance to external impact
• Connection thread dimensions
• Operating pressure
• Diagrams
• Hydraulic parameters, and other features

Many manufacturers have never had to complete a passport to this specification, and it is one of the more common reasons a file stalls.

What is a technical solution?

Here is the thing you will not find in any other technical regulation. A great deal of equipment covered by TR EAEU 043 does not correspond to any standard against which it could be tested, and yet it still requires a declaration or a certificate of conformity.

Every other regulation runs testing against defined standards. This one offers a second route: the technical solution.

It is a document the certification body produces from the technical description and the drawings of the equipment. It sets out which tests the laboratory must run where no relevant GOST exists, how many samples are required, and so on. The test reports are then based on the technical solution rather than on a GOST.

Two practical points. Developing the testing technique is arduous, takes roughly a month, and is always charged separately, so it belongs in the project schedule and the budget from the outset.

Products that almost always need one:

• Fire hydrants
• Hose connections
• Hose cabinets
• Certain valves

It applies regardless of whether the end document is a declaration or a certificate. GOST standards for TR EAEU 043 are still under development, so the set of products needing a technical solution should thin out over time, but not yet.

Sources

• TR EAEU 043/2017, On the requirements for fire safety and fire extinguishing equipment, Eurasian Economic Commission
• EAEU register of accredited fire testing laboratories