EN 1090 · Execution of steel and aluminium structures
EN 1090 certification for structural steel and aluminium fabricators.
Fabricators supplying beams, frames, trusses and other structural components into Europe are asked for EN 1090 before their products reach site. Sterling's expert and experienced consultants set up factory production control, welding control and execution records with your team, then support you through the notified body's audit. We ensure successful certification for our clients.
- Fixed scope, one proposal: consulting, Effivity software, Sterling Academy access and internal auditor training, as applicable to your standard, in one proposal
- A team of expert and experienced consultants in fabrication and welding quality, with management system consulting across sectors and countries since 2003
- The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements. Sterling does not certify; a notified body audits and decides
8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries.
Why fabricators choose Sterling
What it is
What is EN 1090 and what is it used for?
EN 1090 is the European standard set for the execution of steel and aluminium structures. Its first part deals with the conformity of structural components, and the later parts set technical requirements for steel and for aluminium. European Accreditation publishes guidance on the 1090 standard set under Regulation (EU) 305/2011, the Construction Products Regulation, which shows its role in placing structural components on the EU market.
For a fabricator, EN 1090 turns a workshop's everyday practice into a controlled system: specified materials, qualified welding, dimensional checks and traceable records that let the component carry the CE marking its customers expect.
Current status. The editions of EN 1090-1, EN 1090-2 and EN 1090-3, and the way construction products law is changing in the EU, should be confirmed with your notified body before you plan. We check them at the start of every engagement.
Who it is for
Who needs EN 1090 certification?
Anyone who fabricates structural steel or aluminium components for the European market is likely to need it. Typical starting points:
- A contractor asks for CE-marked components. The order requires the declaration and marking, and the certificate behind them.
- You are entering the EU market. Exporters from Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere need the system before the first shipment.
- You are moving to more demanding work. Bigger or more critical structures bring stricter welding and inspection expectations.
- Your certificate has outgrown its scope. New materials, processes or sites need to be brought under control.
The benefit is fewer site rejections and records that prove each component was made as specified.
Requirements
What are the main EN 1090 requirements?
The detailed structure of EN 1090 was not verified from an official source for this page, so the list below shows what Sterling's work covers. Your implementation is checked against the editions your notified body applies.
- Factory production control: a documented system that controls how components are made and checked.
- Welding control: qualified procedures and welders and competent welding coordination.
- Materials and traceability: specified materials received, identified and traced to each component.
- Inspection and testing: dimensional, visual and other checks recorded against the specification.
- Declaration and marking: the information the manufacturer issues with each component.
What does useful EN 1090 evidence look like?
Contract reviews that capture the specification, material certificates, qualified welding procedures and welder records, inspection and test reports, calibration records and nonconformity handling. We keep these in Effivity so each component's file can be produced on request.
Your engagement
What your EN 1090 engagement includes
Your agreed scope brings together what factory production control and a prepared team need. A Sterling engagement covers the whole journey, from one team, under one all-inclusive proposal.
Scope and gap analysis
Components, materials and processes in scope, agreed before work starts.
Factory production control and welding procedures
Built with your production and welding teams around how you work.
Effivity ISO & GRC software
Production records and actions in Effivity, included at no additional cost.
Training for everyone
Internal auditor training as applicable, and preferential Sterling Academy access with complimentary awareness training for your people.
Internal audit and management review
Conducted or facilitated as agreed, with findings closed on evidence.
Audit readiness and support
Preparation for the notified body's audit and support until the certificate is issued.
Sterling does not certify. The notified body audits your factory production control and makes the certification decision.
Often combined with
Standards organisations pair with EN 1090
- CE markingCE marking compliance support for manufacturers: EU rules, technical files, declaration of conformity and quality systems.
- EN 71 / ASTM F963EN 71 and ASTM F963 toy safety compliance for manufacturers: product and market mapping, material control, test planning and records that keep lots conforming.
- EU Cyber Resilience ActCyber Resilience Act compliance and requirements for products with digital elements: categories, reporting since September 2026 and CE marking by December 2027.
- EU MDR 2017/745EU MDR compliance consulting for CE marking: QMS, technical documentation, traceability and post-market surveillance prepared for your notified body.
- IEC 61508IEC 61508 compliance support for E/E/PE safety-related systems: functional safety management, lifecycle records, SIL evidence and assessment readiness.
- IEC 61511IEC 61511 compliance for process plants: the safety instrumented system lifecycle, functional safety management and the evidence your assessors expect.
Effivity · ISO and GRC software, included in every engagement
How Effivity helps you fulfil, automate and simplify the requirements of EN 1090.
Every Sterling EN 1090 engagement includes Effivity, the ISO and GRC automation platform built by the Sterling group and used in 50+ countries. Your consultant configures the workspace within the agreed scope, so documents, welding qualifications, material certificates, audits, nonconformities, calibration, inspection records, training and management review live in one place, the system runs in daily work and the certification auditor reviews a live system rather than a binder. Sterling consulting clients get their Effivity subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost.
Context, scope and interested parties
The scope statement, the internal and external issues and the interested parties are kept in one register and reviewed on a schedule, so the context stays current as the business changes instead of being rewritten before each audit.
Policy, roles and objectives
The policy, the responsibilities and the objectives with their measures, owners and dates live where the people who own them work; progress is reported from the system, not from a separate spreadsheet.
Risks and opportunities
A risk and opportunity register with owners, actions and review dates; treatments tracked to closure and brought to management review automatically.
Competence, awareness and documented information
Training and competence records for every person, linked to Sterling Academy; documents with versions, approvals and distribution, so the current version is the only one in use.
Production control, welding and inspection
Material receipt and traceability, welding qualifications, dimensional and visual checks and release, each with its record created as the component is made.
Monitoring, internal audit and management review
Audit programmes, findings and follow-up; KPIs on live dashboards; a management review that records its inputs, decisions and actions.
Nonconformity, complaints and corrective action
Raised, investigated and closed with root cause and the evidence that the action worked; recurring issues visible to management before they become a finding.
Your own processes, forms and reports
Forms, fields, workflows and reports adapted to how you work, without code; legal and customer requirements tracked to the processes they affect.
What this means at the audit
The notified body asks for the factory production control manual, welding qualifications, material traceability, inspection records and the handling of nonconforming components. In Effivity each is a screen with dates, owners and evidence attached. After certification, Sustain™ runs in the same workspace, so surveillance audits find a system that never stopped.
In your engagement
- Subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost
- Configured by your Sterling consultant within the agreed scope
- Your documents, records and registers migrated, not retyped
- Admin and user training for your team
- Modules for QMS, EMS, OHSMS, ISMS and more when you integrate other standards
Sterling Academy · Fabrication quality e-learning
Train the whole workshop on fabrication quality, not just the quality lead.
Sterling Academy delivers e-learning for the whole workforce and for the people who run the system: video lessons with practice checkpoints, a final exam and a numbered Certificate of Completion for each learner, verifiable online. Sterling consulting clients benefit from preferential course access and special pricing through their Sterling consultant, including complimentary awareness training for their people as part of the engagement.
- Fabrication quality awareness for welders, fitters, inspectors and planners
- Practitioner learning for the people who run factory production control
- Internal auditor training for the people who will audit the system, as applicable to your standard, as part of the engagement
- Learner progress by department and a training status report for the notified body
- New hires trained as they arrive, so evidence is current at every surveillance audit
- A Sterling consultant reachable when a learner needs one
Keep exploring
Explore more about EN 1090
EN 1090 resources
Services for EN 1090
Why Sterling
Want successful EN 1090 certification? Come to Sterling.
Fabricators exporting to Europe often run plants in several countries. We help you set one production control approach with clear local ownership, so every site makes and records components the same way.
Management systems in 60+ countries since 2003
Systems implemented for fabricators, manufacturers, contractors and service firms across every region we serve, with offices in 21 countries and one engagement team accountable wherever you operate.
All-inclusive proposal
Consulting, Effivity, training and Academy access in one proposal, with any third-party fees identified separately. No surprises, ever.
A system your people can use
Fewer documents and more control: procedures, records and software connected to the work on the floor, so fabrication evidence is produced as the job is done.
Expert and experienced consultants
Consultants who have advised on management systems across sectors and countries since 2003 and who build the fabrication side of your system properly the first time.
The Sterling Promise
What our EN 1090 certification success guarantee means
We stay with you until your agreed EN 1090 certification outcome is achieved, supporting implementation, preparation and the resolution of audit findings. Practical delivery, included software and employee learning turn the investment into lasting capability rather than a certificate on a wall.
The engagement identifies the standard, scope, outcome and responsibilities. Your organisation supplies accurate information, issues its own declaration and puts the agreed controls into use. The notified body assesses conformity and retains its certification decision. Our commitment concerns the agreed certification support, not a promise of every future contract award. Sterling does not give legal advice.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about EN 1090
Is EN 1090 certification mandatory?
Where structural steel or aluminium components are placed on the EU market under the Construction Products Regulation, the EN 1090 route is how they are CE-marked, so customers will usually insist on it. Confirm with your notified body and legal advisers how the rules apply to your products.
What is the difference between EN 1090 and ISO 3834?
EN 1090 covers the conformity and execution of steel and aluminium structural components, while ISO 3834 sets quality requirements for fusion welding in any sector. Welding control is part of EN 1090 work, so many fabricators build one welding system that serves both.
Who issues the EN 1090 certificate?
A notified body audits your factory production control and issues the certificate; Sterling does not. Check that the body is notified for the right product area before you sign.
Keep exploring
More on EN 1090 and related standards
More in Product compliance & functional safety
Talk to a consultant
Plan your EN 1090 certification with confidence.
Tell us about your workshop, materials and target date. We will help you define the scope, timeline and next steps.
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