But now, in the face of stiff price competition, there is no better time for reputable manufacturers to seek full independent endorsement and approval of their products to highlight their safety.
ASTA is an independent third party certification body; a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee. Since there is no pressure to satisfy shareholders, its principal interest is the safety of electrical products.
With manufacturers facing a complex range of requirements to prove the quality of their products there is a greater need than ever for such an independent body. The ASTA Diamond Mark is the visible proof that a product has such approval.
Unfortunately, with some exceptions, few manufacturers have bothered to attain this stamp of approval, though in fairness I would suggest that such approval has not been called for by the marketplace as a whole.
Mass-produced products that form a safety critical part of an installation have the greatest need for third party approval. It is important to remember that it is these products that are price sensitive and most open to cheaper, and sometimes unsafe, alternatives.
Consider the case for consumer units. Given that this is a critical part of the installation, it is surprising that to date only two manufacturers have achieved the Diamond Mark for their consumer units and breakers – Hager and Contactum. Perhaps it is time for others to join this safety-conscious club.
There are several levels of ASTA certification. A product may have a Type-Test Certificate against one complete sequence of a standard, tested to full compliance with the standard, or taken a step further to attain full ASTA approval and be awarded the Diamond Mark.
Most manufacturers should be able to show you an ASTA Type-Test Certificate, very few will have complete compliance and if they have they would typically have gone a step further for the ASTA Diamond Mark.
For type-testing a manufacturer will send ASTA a product and ask it to verify that it satisfies one or a complete series of tests as prescribed in a standard. If it does then the manufacturer will receive a certificate to say that it complies.
Obviously a better solution is the Certificate of Complete Compliance. Again the manufacturer would typically send a product and ASTA will then verify that it meets all the requirements of the test standard applicable to the product at that point in time.
While this is more extensive than a Type-Test Certificate, it still only relates to the product that was tested. What about production variations or indeed relaunched ranges? Sometimes such certificates are three or more years old – has that manufacturer's range really stood still in that time? For a manufacturer to get full approval and the right to use the ASTA Diamond Mark as proof that the product you are installing is fully compliant, a much more rigorous procedure is required. First ASTA tests the product for complete compliance with the relevant British, European or International standards. Then it verifies the full production process to ISO 9001/9002, including the quality control procedures, thus ensuring the ongoing compliance of the product.
ASTA will reassess the production line and randomly select a product for testing more than once a year. Any future changes in the product, its design, raw materials or the production methods must be verified by ASTA to check that the product still complies with the standards. Finally, the testing to the standards is repeated every seven years.
Realistically not every electrical product could go through this procedure, but safety-critical items certainly should.
The only alternative for manufacturers is to cut costs and corners to try and stay competitive with potentially non-compliant products. At what point will safety be compromised?
Source
Electrical and Mechanical Contractor
Postscript
Andrew Was is business development manager at ASTA Certification Services.
