IVG Industrieverband Geobaustoffe e.V.

Target

The ivg.product certificate is issued by the Industrieverband Geobaustoffe e.V. (IVG) in conjunction with the Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen (BASt) (Federal Highway Research Institute) to ensure the product quality of geotextiles required by the client when delivered to the construction site.

The ivg.product certificate confirms the conformity of the values stated by the manufacturer in the CE declaration of performance with the values of a voluntary third-party monitoring based on the "Recommendation for the performance of monitoring and certification of geotextiles, geotextile-related products and geomembranes, approved according to the European system 2+ proof of conformity procedure".

The ivg.product certificate is voluntary.

Implementation

An approved testing body carries out the tests and an accredited certification body (e.g. KIWA, SKZ, STFI) issues the ivg.product certificate.

Valid ivg. product certificates are published on the ivg.homepage at https://www.ivgeobaustoffe.de/Zertifikate/ivgProduktzertifikate/DE_index_1204.html.  

Advantages

Advantages for the supplier
The ivg.product certificate is recognised as a monitoring equivalent to the incoming building material inspection. Upon presentation of the ivg.product certificate, the time-consuming incoming building material inspection for the scope of application of the ZTV E Stb is no longer required.

WITHOUT ivg.product certificate the client requires the following evidence for the goods delivered to a construction site:

For high safety requirements (reinforcement or all other applications where the long-term behaviour of the product is important for the safety of the construction):

• 2 test certificates for deliveries up to 6,000 ²
• 1 test certificate for each additional delivery up to 6,000 m²

For normal safety requirements (all other applications):

• 2 test certificates for deliveries up to 10,000 m²
• 1 test certificate for each additional delivery up to 10,000 m²

Advantages for the client
The client is guaranteed compliance with the properties specified in the product data sheet (CE accompanying document). 

Validity period

The ivg.product certificate is valid for a maximum of one year from the date of issue or until it is declared invalid by the certification body. It expires immediately if the relevant technical specifications and/or the conditions of manufacture of the construction product are changed. 

Only certificates currently registered on the ivg.homepage are valid.

Costs

The following fees apply for the ivg. product certificate:

A. Fee for the testing and certification body
The costs for the testing and certification effort are agreed individually between the client and the testing and certification body.
The invoicing is made by the testing and certification body directly to the client and usually immediately after issuing the certificate.

B. Fee for the IVG as owner of the ivg.product certificate - certification system
The IVG shall charge certification fees to the companies whose ivg.product certificates are published on the ivg.homepage according to the following rules:

The basis is the number of certificates published on the ivg.homepage in one calendar year.

• The minimum amount is € 750.00. This covers up to 5 certificates.
• For each additional certificate 150.00 € will be charged.
• For companies applying for ivg.product certificates for the first time, a one-time fee of € 1,500 is due.

These fees charged by the IVG to the Certificate Holder shall be due after the end of each calendar year and shall be invoiced at the beginning of the following year.

Example 1 for IVG fee
In 2023, 8 certificates of a client were published on the ivg.homepage.
The IVG charges € 1,200. 
If the IVG has published ivg.product certificates for the first time for the client in 2023, an additional one-time fee of € 1,500 shall apply.
The invoice will be issued at the beginning of 2024.

Example 2 for IVG fee
In 2023, 2 certificates of a client were published on the ivg.homepage.
The IVG shall charge the minimum fee of €750.00. 
If the IVG has published ivg.product certificates for the client for the first time in 2023, an additional one-time fee of € 1,500 shall be charged.
The invoice will be issued at the beginning of 2024.

Conclusion 

• Manufacturers whose products are subject to voluntary monitoring in accordance with the "Recommendations..." of the IVG can label these products with an ivg.quality seal and provide a product certificate together with the CE marking.
• The site-owner is guaranteed compliance with the properties specified in the product data sheet (CE accompanying document). For the contractor, there is no need for cost-intensive verifications for the incoming building material inspection.
• All currently valid ivg.product certificates and further detailed information can be found on our homepage.

Further information

Application standards are the basis for CE certificates with declarations of performance, without which geotextiles and related products may not be placed on the market in Germany. They describe the properties to be tested, which are required, for geotextiles and related products in various applications.

The European standards specify the verification of conformity procedure in Annex ZA. SYSTEM 2+ applies to geosynthetics. It consists oft he following elements:

Conformitydetection method: 2+ (Conformity-Declaration of the Manufactor)
Task of the manufaturer: Initial testing oft he product (type test); continuous FPC
Task oft he approved body: FPC certification due to initial inspection oft he factory and the FPC and ongoing monitoring, assessment and recognition oft he FPC 

Factory production control (FPC) is understood to be the continuous self-monitoring of production by the manufacturer. This includes the establishment of the factory production control system as well as its documentation and maintenance.

Regular sampling and material tests are carried out according to this system exclusively in the manufacturer's area of responsibility. In System 2+ there are no fixed requirements for the qualification and competence of the material inspection bodies.

To ensure a higher level of quality, the IVG has developed a voluntary quality control system based on this conformity assessment procedure and issued as "Recommendation for the performance of surveillance and certification of geotextiles, geotextile-related products and geomembranes approved according to the European Attestation of Conformity Procedure System 2+" (hereinafter referred to as "Recommendation ..."). 

This "Recommendation ..." lays down a procedure according to which regular sampling is carried out by the approved inspection bodies for certain properties. The material testing of these samples must be carried out in test laboratories accredited for this purpose.
The test results are attributed to the FPC.

Requirement for the initial inspection from the "Recommendation ..."
For the certification of the factory production control system in the sense of the underlying European standard (Annex ZA), an initial inspection is carried out. This initial inspection includes the verification of factory production control and sampling of all standard products. All properties to which the manufacturer refers in his documentation on factory production control (CE declaration of performance) for the corresponding geosynthetics and for which he specifies characteristic property values are to be tested.
The material testing is carried out in testing laboratories accredited specifically for this purpose.

Requirement for ongoing monitoring from the "Recommendation ..."
Ongoing monitoring shall be carried out every six months. The number of inspections can be reduced from semi-annually to once per calendar year in accordance with the requirements in the M Geok E 
Code of Practice, Annex A 1.2 (2016 edition). The scope of the tests and the properties to be tested are specified in the relevant application standards for each product.

Overview of applications and standards
The ivg.product certificate can be used as proof of quality for all applications specified below. The certification for the use "in the construction of road surfaces and asphalt wearing courses" according to DIN EN 15381:2008 is excluded, as standardised test procedures are still missing.

Geotextiles and related products

Properties required for the application

DIN EN 13249:2016 in the construction of roads and other surfaces     
DIN EN 13250:2016 in railway construction        
DIN EN 13251:2016 in earthworks, foundation engineering and retaining structures       
DIN EN 13252:2016 in drainage systems    
DIN EN 13252:2016 in external erosion control systems      
DIN EN 13252:2016 in the construction of retention basins and dams    
DIN EN 13252:2016 in sewer construction    
DIN EN 13252:2016 in tunnel construction and civil engineering structures       
DIN EN 13252:2016 in the disposal of solid waste materials    
DIN EN 13252:2016 for the containment of liquid waste materials