CARES Certificate
A CARES Certificate of Approval is issued when satisfactory assessment is completed by CARES experts. The scope of the certification as described by the Certificate of Approval is highly significant and important. CARES does not issue general certificates of approval and each CARES certificate has a closely defined scope of approval:
Each certificate of approval states:
• The name of the company
• The site address to which the successful assessment applies
• The scope of certification covered by the approval, including:
- product standards and/or CARES assessment schedule
- processes/products/size range
• The unique certificate number and quick response code
• Date of first approval
• Date of issue
• Date of expiry
When verifying that a product is CARES certified it is important to ensure that the product type, process and size are included on the certificate and that the certificate is of the relevant type.
CARES issues six different certificate types:
1. Management System Certification
This includes:
- Quality Management Systems to ISO 9001
- Environmental Management Systems to ISO 14001
- Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems to ISO 45001
2. Product Conformity Certification
3. Product Installation Certification
This type of certificate is for specialist post-tensioning contractors and covers the installation of post-tensioning systems. In addition to the general information, the Product Installation Certificate includes:
- The relevant CARES assessment schedule, which denotes the type of post-tensioning: slabs, highway structures or remedial grouting
- The type of post-tensioning system (internal/external/bar systems, bonded or unbonded)
- The name of the post-tensioning to be installed
4. Technical Approval Certification
This type of product certification is for non-standard products. The certification is made up of two parts:
- The Technical Approval Report which contains all the relevant product details, including limitations on use and installation requirements. The technical approval report refers to the supporting Technical Approval Certificate
- The Technical Approval Certificate is issued annually after successful regular surveillance inspections and periodic product testing. The Technical Approval Report is invalid if not supported by a current Technical Approval Certificate
5. Sustainable Constructional Steel Certification
6. Construction Products Directive Certification
There are two certificates which may be issued by CARES in this area, depending on the applicable system of attestation required by the technical specification for the product; those relating to factory production control certification and those relating to product certification.
- A Factory Production Certificate of Conformity
- A UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) Certificate of Conformity
Either of these certificates will enable the manufacturer of the construction product to apply the UKCA marking to their product, paperwork, etc. according to the requirements defined in Annex ZA of the particular designated technical specification.