Standardization News

If the scope of your standard specification — existing or proposed — covers a product, consider certification for it.

Certification, a kind of conformity assessment, seeks to ensure that any given product meets the standard’s performance requirements. Accredited, independent organizations such as the Safety Equipment Institute, or SEI, assess and verify that a product complies with a product standard. The process generally includes product testing, inspection, and quality audits at the manufacturing site. 

Does your task group or subcommittee want to:

• Add certification requirements to an existing standard specification?
• Include certification requirements in a standard specification already underway?
• If the answer is yes to either of these questions, SEI — an ASTM International affiliate — can help. 

And if this is a new idea to you or your group, SEI suggests that you start the conversation with your stakeholders. Talk about possibly including certification requirements, which is easier to do at the beginning of the project. That way certification language can be included as performance requirements are being developed.

Your committee may choose to include certification requirements in the standard specification, or they may develop a separate companion certification document. Either way, SEI can provide language and a template about certification and the program; inspection and testing; a certification mark/logo; certified model listing; and reports of noncompliance, lack of fitness for intended purpose, failure in use, or safety issues.

For more guidance or to request the template:
tel +1.703.442.5732
info@SEInet.org

Visit SEI’s new website — coming soon — at www.seinet.org.