Certification listing

A certification listing is a document used to guide installations of certified products, against which a field installation is compared to make sure that it complies with a regulation (e.g., a building code). Typically, products or items are required to be installed or used in accordance with a subject-related certification listing if those products or items are subject to product certification and must be used in a specific manner in order to be safe for use. Certification listings are issued by organisations that are usually nationally accredited for doing both testing and product certification work, in accordance with nationally accredited standards.

Description

A certification listing is a document used to guide installations of certified products. After a field installation is completed, it is compared to the list to make sure that it complies with a regulation (e.g., a building code). Often, products or items are required—by law, void of warranty, or other means—to be installed or used in accordance with a subject-related certification listing if those products or items are subject to product certification and must be used in a specific manner in order to be safe for use.

Organizations

Certification listings are issued by organizations that are usually nationally accredited for doing both testing and product certification work, in accordance with nationally accredited standards.

Such organizations include Underwriters Laboratories, FM Global, or the Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik (DIBt).

Documentation

After testing, the testing laboratory issues a confidential test report to the manufacturer.

If the product passes the testing required for certification, the items in the test that passed are given a certification listing, which describes the product(s) that were tested, the application, and maximum and minimum tolerances for all components. Certification listings are short versions and interpretations of the test results. A certification listing indicates that the test has been properly conducted, the tested systems passed, and that a follow-up agreement is in effect between the manufacturer or submitter and the certifier. In the event that irregularities are discovered on the part of the manufacturer - substitutions of cheaper ingredients or components, deliberate or inadvertent irregularities, or an ingredient or component of a tested system which is no longer be available has been substituted - the listing can be de-activated and the manufacturer asked to remove all logos of the certifier from product literature, promotional materials, packaging, etc.

Accredited testing and certification organizations

• Canada:
  • Accreditation: Standards Council of Canada
  • Accreditation: ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)
  • Accreditation: A2LA
  • Accreditation: International Accreditation Service (IAS)
  • Certification and Testing: Underwriters' Laboratories of Canada
  • Certification and Testing: Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
  • Certification and Testing: Safety Equipment Institute (SEI)
  • Certification and Testing: Intertek
• Germany:
  • Accreditation and Approvals: Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik (DIBt)
• United States
  • Accreditation: Standards Council of Canada
  • Accreditation: ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)
  • Accreditation: A2LA
  • Accreditation: International Accreditation Service (IAS)
  • Testing and Certification: Underwriters Laboratories [1]
  • Testing and Certification: Intertek [2]
  • Testing and Certification: Safety Equipment Institute (SEI)
  • Testing and Certification: Canadian Standards Association (CSA)

See also

• Product certification
• Fire door
• Fire test
• Fire-resistance rating
• Passive fire protection
• Fire protection

External links

• German Building Product Approvals – Online Directory
• DIBt treatise on certification listings (approvals)
• DIBt accreditation of certification and testing organisations in Germany
• National Standards System (NSS) Roadmap, by The Standards Council of Canada (scc.ca)
• ANSI Directory of Accredited Product Certification Bodies, Applicants and Suspended Certification Bodies
• ANSI treatise why one should seek accreditation
• Online Certifications Directory from Underwriters Laboratories
• Online ULC Certifications Directory
• ULC Glossary on Certification, Listings and Approvals
• Catalog of Compostable Products Certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute
• FM Approvals, a member of the FM Global Group
• Online Certified Listing Directory