What You Need to Know
Since 2008, the testing and certification/assessment of rockfall catchment fences has been carried out under a European-wide harmonized guideline published by the European Organisation for Technical Approvals entitled ETAG 27: Guideline for European Technical Approval of Falling Rock Protection Kits. All producers servicing the European market must adhere to this framework and due to the lack of other internationally recognized certifications, ETAG 27 is the most widely implemented certification for rockfall catchment fences throughout the world. The end product of successful testing and certification is a CE-marked product. It should be noted the certification is not an application guideline or performance evaluation and only guarantees a minimum level of testing and quality control has been carried out. For more practical information, please refer to other guidelines (e.g. ONR 24810).
In January 2019, the EOTA replaced the ETAG 27 guideline through the European Assessment Document EAD 340059-00-0106 with the title Falling Rock Protection Kits .
For the EAD 340059-00-0106 assessment document, the content of ETAG 27 was essentially adopted. This document also describes the methods and criteria that allow the EOTA to assess the rockfall protection fence system, which is defined by its technical specifications.
Structure
The primary aspects of ETAG 27 and EAD 340059-00-0106 deal with test setup and methodology, certification requirements, and compulsory documentation. Some highlights are:
Certification Process
Testing for systems according to the ETAG 27 guidelines and EAD 340059-00-0106 are carried out at the test facilities in Erzberg, Austria by an independent approval body. The body is responsible for the initial type-testing, inspection of the initial factory and factory production control, and continuous supervision, assessment and approval of factory production control, as well as the issuance of the certificate of conformity..

References
EOTA (2008) ETAG 27: Guideline for European Technical Approval of Falling Rock Kits. 2008. Brussels, Belgium.