Are your comms clear and unambiguous?

The Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI) has been introduced to make sure all the information relating to construction products released to the market is ‘clear, accurate and unambiguous’.

Introduced by the Construction Products Association in response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, the CCPI is built around five ‘acid tests’ that product information should be:

•Clear
•Accurate
•Up to date
•Accessible
•Unambiguous

To conform with the Code, manufacturers ‘must not use misleading or ambiguous wording’ and must use ‘plain English’ to ensure accurate representation of product information and performance claims.

This, in turn, will help ensure that merchants and their customers have the necessary facts to allow them to make decisions about the product they stock, specify and install.

Words and phrases to avoid

To help provide clarity, the CCPI has compiled a list that, in most cases, should be avoided. In some cases, however, the wording or phrases can be used if they can be contextualised and defined.

These include phrases such as ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘green’, ‘low-carbon’ and ‘heat proof’, for example, unless they can be used with specific, verified and/or certified performance data.

Product manufacturers and suppliers can work with the CCPI to have their products verified as CCPI-compliant. This involves carrying out an online assessment and providing evidence to support that company’s compliance to all 11 clauses of the CCPI. A number of TDUK members have already begun – and even completed – this process.

As awareness of the CCPI grows, the aim is that merchants, specifiers and clients will insist on only working with CCPI-compliant products.

Learn more about the CCPI and how it may affect how you market your timber products online at www.timberdevelopment.uk