FEATURE:PA/VA EN54-24 CERTIFICATION: ‘A LONG ROAD’
“It has been a long road for Penton [in terms of] obtaining certification for our loudspeakers to EN54-24,” says Kevin Tester, managing director of loudspeaker manufacturer Penton UK. “In the beginning we had difficulties in finding a test house in Europe that had all the equipment to cover the tests within the standard. Test houses were forced to either rent anechoic chambers or send products to other test houses – one being an SO2 Chamber for longevity tests. There are apparently very few of these in Europe, so this added to the cost and time in obtaining certification. While it is difficult to put an actual figure on the cost per speaker, we are probably talking in the region of £15,000-£20,000. “Penton chose a London- based test house that has
its goes to the specification.” He acknowledges some
familiar, large-scale construction and design outfits’ dedication to ensuring
facilities around the world and was able to cope with annual inspections in the country of our operations. We went for batch-testing as we believed it to be the most cost- effective way of obtaining certification – but be warned that if one unit in the batch fails, the certificate is withheld until all pass. As you might imagine, this can be extremely frustrating. “Penton currently has 32 EN54-24 certified loudspeakers in its range, with another 30 to follow before the end of the year.”
that “every necessary box is ticked”, but worries that the standards’ high profile is in danger of undermining overall system effectiveness.
“It is often the case that neither the fire alarm manufacturer’s rep or, more importantly, the electrical engineer actually understands what the standard says, nor what to look for in the special CE mark,” maintains Jones. “The only true test for being ‘fit for purpose’ (a legal definition of guilt or innocence) is not a marking, but intelligibility. In my view, the standards are weakening the system by imposing criteria which take the focus away from the effectiveness of the resultant system.”
4) Where do we go from here? The EN54 family will shortly be joined by Part 32, which pertains to the planning, design, installation, commissioning, use and maintenance of voice alarm systems. Currently under preparation, EN54-32 is a Technical Standard (TS) that will elaborate upon minimum performance criteria. Most observers agree that
the new part will be useful. “The 54-32 has better explanations and has parts for predictive methods as
they are already applied in the fire alarm industry,” says van der Hout. “Unfortunately, it will not make a difference to the system design and implementation... The PA/VA industry has a lot of work to do in [terms of] educating its clients.” Pointing out that 32 has “no teeth” within the framework delivered by the CPR, Jones makes a call for 32 to be rendered a full standard as one aspect of a personally devised manifesto that also includes the reworking of EN54 per se (making it “as black and white as it can possibly be”) and the introduction of a central, EU- funded scheme to ensure that the standards are delivering “an effective means of communication under emergency conditions”. EN54 remains a significant
source of stress for installers and specifiers. But it is the manufacturers who must bear the greatest weight – one that is only exacerbated by enduring doubts about the standards’ long-term relevance. Jones sums up: “The nagging feeling is the
‘It’s really been a bit unclear for everyone’
Mark Copeland, Tannoy
uncertainty whether the EN54 will still be around in 10 years’ time, or whether the manufacturer will still be around in 10 years’ time because they spent their money in the wrong direction. It’s a real sleep- thief.”
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