Accreditation Implications re: CSA A277 - Procedure for Certification of Prefabricated Buildings, Modules, and Panels

CORRECTION - 2018-03-16

There have been some developments with respect to this initiative. The proposed approach has been put on HOLD. There will no immediate changes to your scope. But rather each certification body (CB) will be contacted and consulted individually to determine next steps so as to avoid any disruption in the industry. Limited scope modifications will only proceed if it is clear from the evidence provided by the CB that they do not have the professional technical involvement as required by CSA A277-16.

We sincerely apologize for any confusion this Bulletin may have caused.

Elias Rafoul

Vice President, Accreditation Services

Original Bulletin Below

Action required

Update to Scopes of Accreditation to reflect a clarification of scope of the certification standard.

Affected customers

Any Certification Bodies accredited to CSA A277 Procedure for certification of prefabricated buildings, modules, and panels; specifically impacts ICS Code 91.040.99 and, as appropriate, ICS Code 43.100 for certification of trailers and caravans under CSA Z241 series of standards.

Background

Since 2016, SCC has been assessing certification bodies to CSA A277 with the following understanding - CSA A277 included a limitation to building size and use (maximum of 3 stories and area of 600 m² buildings intended for residential, commercial, or semi-commercial use). Upon review and appropriate consultation with the CSA technical committee on Factory Certification of Buildings responsible for CSA A277, it has come to SCC’s attention that the scope of the standard in the 2016 version is the same as in the 2008 version and does not include such a limitation. The CSA A277 technical committee confirmed that the 2016 version of the standard was meant to help clarify terminology and that in actuality, there were no changes to the requirements.

Consequently and working in collaboration with the CSA A277 technical committee, SCC has completed a thorough review of the scope of accreditation for CSA A277 and will be implementing changes to scopes so they clearly state what has been assessed. For those certification bodies that also certify trailers and caravans to CAN/CSA Z241 series of standards, scopes will be reviewed to ensure that ICS Code 43.100 is properly listed.

All applicable Certification Bodies using CSA A277 for certification will have their scopes of accreditation modified as follows:

ICS No. 91.040.99

Title: 

Other buildings limited to:

• Buildings that fall within the scope of Part 9 of Division B of the National Building Code (NBC) and fall within the scope of CAN/CSA A277-16
• Buildings that fall within the scope of Part 10 of the Alberta Building Code

Purpose

• Building Safety (structural
• and occupancy)
• Electrical Safety
• Energy Performance
• Fire Safety
• Gas Safety
• Plumbing Safety

In cases where the Certification body is also accredited for the certification of Trailers and Caravans under the CAN/CSA Z241 series of standards, if needed, the scope will be modified to the following:

ICS No. for Certification of  Trailers & Caravans to CSA Z241 series of standards:

ICS No. 43.100

Title

Trailers and Caravans that fall within the scope of the CAN/CSA Z241 series of standards

Purpose

• Building Safety (structural and occupancy)
• Electrical Safety
• Energy Performance
• Fire Safety
• Gas Safety
• Plumbing Safety

Following our planned consultation with Regulators and Certification Bodies on scopes that cover all buildings under CSA A277-16, SCC will reach out and invite Certification Bodies who wish to expand their scope to formally apply.

New requirements

N/A

Deadline

All Scopes of Accreditation will be updated and posted to www.scc.ca no later than 2018-03-16 to show current limitations as was previously assessed. 

Questions?

Please contact Valerie Lefebvre, Project Manager, Technical Services, at vlefebvre@scc.ca or +1 613 238 3222 for more information.