EUROPEAN STANDARD FOR VARIABLE MESSAGE TRAFFIC SIGNS EN12966

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1 EUROPEAN STANDARD FOR VARIABLE MESSAGE TRAFFIC SIGNS EN Product standard EN Initial type testing EN Factory production control Wolfgang Ernst Chairman and convener of CEN/TC226/WG11 1

2 TOPICS Development and contents of Purpose of Not purpose of How to use Example for VMS specification for tunnel signs FAQ regarding certification, ITT and FPC 2

3 DEVELOPMENT AND CONTENTS OF The European Standard has been developed under a contract between the European Commission and CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation) by CEN/TC226/WG3/SG3.1, between 1990 and International European experts from the industry, science and test houses, road administrations and consultants for installations and maintenance have been delegated to SG3.1 by member states Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands and UK, Slovenia and Denmark. After reconsidering the requirements several times, by respecting all remarks and suggestions from national mirror groups and by following all requests raised by the CEN-consultant, the draft documents have been sent out for formal voting in the year At 31 st of January European member states and associates have been asked to vote. The standard has been approved by 24 votes, 2 abstentions and one disapproval with a majority of 97,66%. 3

4 DEVELOPMENT AND CONTENTS OF After two years of coexistence period since 1 st of February 2007 cemarking of a VMS is only allowed after approval by Notified Bodies; only NB s have the permission to issue CE-Certificates according to. All national standards have been substituted by, which cannot be changed, amended or overruled by national regulations. In 2008 CEN/TC226 decided that further enhancements of shall no longer be performed by subgroup 3.1 of WG3 (road traffic signs), why WG11 (variable message traffic signs) has been established. In 2009, after five years of practical use, the work on a revision of the standard has been started by CEN TC226 / WG11. This revision is planned to be released by the end of On 1 st of August 2010 amendments to -1:2005 have been published, with clarifications and additional advice presented in informative annexes (-1:2005+A1:2009) 4

5 DEVELOPMENT AND CONTENTS OF CE-marking of the products is mandatory within the European market according to the CPD (Construction Products Directive). Ignoring this European directive might result in heavy legal claims and prosecution at European Court. The standard has been developed as a list of functional requirements. Functional requirements are describing the properties of VMS, necessary to be visible, legible and reliable at the conditions and for the period of their intended use. Requirements of are not demanding the technology nor the method how to build VMS. Most requirements are consisting of performance classes. According to the application one of the provided classes may to be chosen by the purchaser. 5

6 DEVELOPMENT AND CONTENTS OF The manufacturer has to prove by initial type testing (-2:2005), that his VMS fulfils the demands of the required performance classes. The confirmation of compliance is issued by a Notified Body. Notified Bodies are selected and authorised by national authorities like Ministry for Traffic or Construction. Once a year the Notified Body performs a factory production control (-3:2005), to assure that the manufacturer is producing VMS in stabile quality in compliance with the tested product. Representatives of the NB s are forming a committee for CEN-CPD (construction products directives); this committee (WG3 of SG04) shall harmonize the test procedures and supervise the issued CE- Certificates. WG3 shall also discuss possible improvements and prepare position paper for the use of the standard. 6

7 DEVELOPMENT AND CONTENTS OF In case of claims against a Certificate CEN/CPD/SG04/WG3 is asking the concerned NB for clarification; in case of mistakes the NB has to correct the Certificate - repeat measurements, correct the classification, worst case is suspension of the approval. If the NB is not reacting to the claims of WG3 accordingly the CEN Commission is informed by WG3; according to decision described in Article 26 of NB-CPD/08/333 adopted jointly by the European Parliament and the Council, the CEN Commission is informing the notifying Member State and request to take the necessary corrective measures, including de-notification. 7

8 PURPOSE OF Harmonise European legislation Remove barriers to trade throughout the common market Use of European Standard has positive impacts, because the definition of minimum requirements for VMS to guarantee functionality, reliability and readability depending on location and situation VMS are used in traffic guidance system to inform road users in due time of hazards, traffic jam, route information etc.; this is only possible if VMS provide information legible and understandable, even during poor environmental conditions, what leads directly and indirectly to increase of traffic safety decrease of traffic jam savings in national economy (pollution, health, time, standard of living,...) 8

9 NOT PURPOSE OF The definition and design of traffic signs (however, technical recommendations and informative guidelines based on specific properties of Light Emitting Signs are included) To create limits or restrictions on developing new technologies (the is a functional specification, not a technical specification) The required performance of the product is specified, NOT how to make it. This leaves the manufacturer free to choose design, materials and manufacturing method. 9

10 HOW TO USE The Traffic Engineer is designing the general outlook of the traffic guidance system, the detection of environmental and traffic data, the control system, the amount, location and placement of VMS, how to inform the road users, e.g. by warning signs, restriction signs text messages and/or additional information. According to the application (speed, shape of the road, environmental conditions etc.) the size of the graphical information has to be defined, usage of guidelines provided in informative annexes of is recommend. The Traffic Engineer is selecting the appropriate performance classes from the Standard light intensity, distribution angle, temperature range, wind- and snow-load etc. 10

11 HOW TO USE Only two conditions have to be respected for the proper function of this system: The Traffic Engineer (or the purchaser, investor) has to check carefully the Certificate of the Notified Body; the required class combination has to be tested and released (=> driving license ). The test reports shall be standardized and are easily comparable. Notified Bodies (or test houses under the responsibility of NB s) have to perform the test and approval procedure according to the requirements defined in the Standard document. The system can work if the test results do not depend on the place where they have been determined. It is very important that purchasers can trust in the reliability of CE-Certificates. 11

12 Advantages of using the HOW TO USE All technical specifications are defined in the Standard document; the test method and approval is clearly described; there is no need for further explanations or definitions. All offers can be easily compared; test reports, following the same well defined standardized test procedures are available to proof the compliance with the required quality. Harmonized quality classes are valid for the European market; different environmental conditions and local needs or requirements are covered by various performance classes to be selected by the Traffic Engineer The manufacturer exactly knows what he has to offer, there is no room for interpretations or misunderstandings. In case of achieving approvals for the required class combinations he may offer his product. 12

13 EXAMPLE FOR SPECIFICATION OF TUNNEL SIGNS, USING Type and size: Side mounted signs, showing speed limits 30, 50, 70, 90 with 600mm diameter of red ring, maximum element spacing 20mm, max. casing dimensions 700x700x150mm, max. weight 35kg, design of figures and stroke width shall follow Norwegian specification. Power supply 230V, maximum power consumption 25W Definition of control interface, protocol etc. Visual performance classes: Luminance L3(T), Colour C2 Beam width B6 Physical performance classes: Wind-load W6, Temperature T3 Protection P3 (IP56) Test reports have to be attached to the offer to prove compliance with the required class combinations, showing element spacing, brand and type of the light source used and major operating conditions (e.g. operating LED current or operating voltage of halogen bulbs) 13

14 FAQ REGARDING CERTIFICATION, ITT AND FPC Q1: Is it mandatory that one NB is performing all tests in-house? A1: No; but the NB issuing the CE-certificate is responsible for outsourced approvals have followed the requirements. It is the duty of the NB to make sure that applicable test facilities are available, and that all requirements are well known and understood. Q2: Is it mandatory that all described tests have to be performed or is it possible to skip some tests or change testing procedure? A2: All described tests have to be performed as required. Only when the NB can take the responsibility that one test has been already passed at another occasion or that the test is obviously redundant to other tests performed on the same test module there might be an exception. For NB s it is highly recommended not to take the risk to issue an incorrect CE-Certificate by changing or skipping test procedures or requirements. 14

15 FAQ REGARDING CERTIFICATION, ITT AND FPC Q3: Is it allowed to place products without CE-label? A3: In EU only CE-marked products are admitted. Q4: Is it allowed replace / change requirements with national standards? A4: Additional requirements in conflict with EN are not allowed, e. g. deviation from fixed classes, like environmental temperature, luminance, beam width, colour, etc. Q5: Is it allowed to be not compliant to national Standards? A5: No compliance with national (conflicting) standards is allowed; EN- Standard is superseding national Standards Q6: How shall the optical performance be measured with continuous VMS (e.g. prismatic signs)? A6: The visual performance for continuous signs and externally illuminated discontinuous signs is covered by EN , as stated in the scope of -1:2005. All related test procedures have to be performed according to ITT and FPC of EN

16 FAQ REGARDING CERTIFICATION, ITT AND FPC Q7: What kind of data has to be provided within the CE-Certificate A7: The CE-Certificate should show the main properties of the approved VMS; it should allow the purchaser to compare the requirements of the enquiry with the offered VMS. For most of the physical (environmental) requirements it is good enough to confirm the performance classes which have been passed, e.g. temperature, protection, loads etc. The configuration of the test module in respect of the optical requirements have to be described more detailed. It is not good enough to confirm the achieved luminance class (beside colour, beam width and luminance ratio). In case of LED-technology is used, luminance is depending on the type of LED, the element spacing (pixel pitch), the operating current and the offset of the optical axis. 16

17 FAQ REGARDING CERTIFICATION, ITT AND FPC Q7: What kind of data has to be provided within the CE-Certificate (continued) A7: describes only functional requirements, why it does not require to measure the LED-current (not even the word LED is mentioned, the standard is not describing any technology). The main properties of the tested module like type of LED, element spacing, operating current, use of a front screen as well as offset of the optical axis have to be described in the test reports; otherwise the measured values are not reproducible and it cannot be proved that the tested device was representative to the offered VMS. Durability of VMS is a major topic, mainly depending on the current load (the operating current in relation to the maximum current allowed); to evaluate the load of the used LED it is also necessary to mention the maximum current allowed. All of these parameters are normally part of the enquiry specification, why they need to be confirmed by NB. 17

18 FAQ REGARDING CERTIFICATION, ITT AND FPC Q8: What is the purpose of FPC A8: During FPC the manufacturer of VMS proves that he is following the requirements of the standard not only for the tested prototype (test-module) but also during series production. Special attention has to be taken to check that the manufacturer is placing the CE-marking only on products which are representative to the tested module. If one manufacturer has only tested monochrome VMS he must not place the CE-marking on RGB-signs. If one manufacturer has only tested signs with 20mm PP he must not place the CE-marking on signs with 15mmPP or 30mmPP, etc. Summarized: Third party control of performance! 18

19 FAQ REGARDING CERTIFICATION, ITT AND FPC Q9: Is it necessary to perform FPC (factory production control) on manufacturers who are holding a ISO-9000 certificate? A9: ISO 9000 is documenting the quality of the production process; FPC is controlling the production and the produced goods itself. Therefore FPC is mandatory not regarding whether or not the manufacturer is already holding a ISO-certificate. 19

20 RETROSPECTION TO THE PRESENTATION Development and contents of THANK YOU FOR YOUR Purpose of Not purpose of How to use ATTENTION Example for VMS specification for tunnel signs FAQ regarding certification, ITT and FPC Wolfgang Ernst Chairman and convener of CEN/TC226/WG11 20