Product Certification

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Product certification is the process of certifying that a product has passed performance tests and quality assurance tests in order to meet the necessary local, national or international quality standards relevant to a particular market or product set and meets qualification criteria stipulated in contracts, regulations, or specifications (typically called "certification schemes" in the product certification industry). Third party product certification provides confidence that the product is fit for purpose, is manufactured using a defined quality system and links factory production with what was tested by the fire laboratory. Product certification is often required in sensitive industry and marketplace areas where a failure could have serious consequences, such as negatively affecting the health and welfare of the people or person using that product.A product certification scheme is a certification system related to specific products to which the same specific requirements, rules and procedures apply.

The various schemes for third party certification of products vary slightly according to who is providing them but all evaluate most or all of the elements below:

• Factory production control via an initial factory inspection and routine surveillance visits.


• Initial type testing of the product.


• An appraisal of the product test and assessment evidence against a technical schedule to ensure that the certification gives the widest scope of application.


• Traceability of the product from raw material to factory to site.


• Labeling of the product to give confidence to end-users and to assist traceability.

Benefits of Product Certification:

• Encourage product quality through upstream control.


• Establish flexibility in production quality concluded continuous surveillance of production process in the factory.


• Giving greater confidence in product quality to identified star standards.


• Reducing the risk of failure in on-site compliance testing, hence reducing the risk of project delay due to reordering, as well as avoiding wasting time and money.

The process for certification of a product is generally summed up in four step:

• Application (including testing of the product).


• Evaluation (does the test data indicate that the product meets qualification criteria).


• Decision (does a second review of the product application concur with the Evaluation).


• Surveillance (does the product in the marketplace continue to meet qualification criteria).