HEALTH AND SANITATION 27
Understanding certified products and why they matter to consumers
By
Jocelyn Quinonez
Product certification , which includes product listing and labelling , is essential in the plumbing industry . This helps protect the public ’ s health and safety .
Third-party certification agencies ensure the products that bear a certification mark have met the industry standards and plumbing codes that include critical safety requirements .
Given the surge in online shopping , it is more important than ever for the public to understand product certification . In the past when purchasing products , most people would go to a few well-established stores . Those stores would go through the process of ensuring the products they sell are certified to the appropriate requirements . Now with online shopping , people can easily purchase items from sellers that may not check these requirements or from manufacturers themselves who may not have gone through the certification and have no way to show the product complies with the applicable standards and plumbing codes . Understanding product certification helps one to ensure the product purchased complies with the appropriate requirements .
For products to become listed , the manufacturer contacts a third-party certifier to obtain the certificate of listing and approval to use the certifier ’ s mark to label their product . There are several certification agencies accredited for plumbing product certification , and each one is slightly different ; however , in general there are three important components to product certification that everyone should understand — the certification mark , the certificate of listing , and the standard . To further explain each component , let ’ s use an example :
You have purchased a new lavatory faucet model , “ Lavatory 1 ” from “ Manufacturer X ,” and want to confirm it is third-party certified . The easiest way to do this is to look for the mark on the product , as that is one of the listing requirements . If the mark is not visible on the product , it may be shown on the online specification sheet . For our example , the following certification mark was found on the lavatory faucet that was recently purchased .
The mark shown above indicates the product was certified by IAPMO R & T , which is North America ’ s premier plumbing and mechanical product certification agency . It is accredited by the American National Standards Institute ( ANSI ), the Standards Council of Canada ( SCC ) and entidad mexicana de acreditación , a . c . ( ema ) along with recognition by Comisión Nacional del Agua ( CONAGUA ). The mark indicates the lavatory faucet meets the applicable U . S . and Canadian requirements for plumbing products and that the product also complies with both the Uniform Plumbing Code ® and the National Plumbing Code of Canada , as noted by the “ c ” in the left-hand corner . The lead-free and NSF / ANSI / CAN 61 marks above the shield indicate the product has these additional material listings for the use of safe materials and lead content . There are several marks of conformity used for IAPMO R & T-certified products depending on the product . For full details of each mark , refer to the Mark Usage Guide available at IAPMO R & T ’ s website : https :// www . iapmo . org / media / 25185 / rt _ markguideline . pdf .
Now that you have checked and discovered the product is marked , you can verify the model you have purchased , “ Lavatory 1 ” from “ Manufacturer X ,” is certified by IAPMO R & T . By verifying “ Manufacturer X ” has a certificate of listing with IAPMO R & T and this certificate includes the model “ Lavatory 1 ,” one can then confirm this product is listed . To do this , one can visit the certifier ’ s website for its listing directory to locate any active certificates . The certificate of listings is public information that can be
David Viola , IAPMO CEO
In the spirit of the sharing of unique experiences that shape the plumbing industries in our respective nations , the following article looks at the importance of product certification , particularly in the plumbing industry . Written by IAPMO Product Review Engineer Jocelyn Quinonez , it is the next in a regular series of similar articles that will run in this magazine .
“ For products to become listed , the manufacturer contacts a third-party certifier ….” `
November 2022 Volume 28 I Number 9 www . plumbingafrica . co . za