A brief outline of the Certificate Scheme in Australia

Australian Certification Manager Chad McLean explains about the Certifire scheme.

Warringtonfire Australia now offers an independent third-party certification scheme, Certifire, which will provide manufacturers of fire protection products the opportunity to differentiate themselves from non-certified equivalents and promote long-term confidence to end-users.

The scheme includes the following main areas:

Evaluation – Analysis of submitted test and assessment data will allow us to provide a clearly defined scope of the certification for the product.

Factory Production Control (FPC) audits – A FPC audit will be undertaken at each site where the product is produced for the Australian market. The audit will be carried out in accordance with ISO 9001, along with the additional requirements of the Certifire scheme.

Sampling – During the FPC audit, sampling the product being certified may be undertaken for testing purposes.

Production and registration of certificate – The certificate will be prepared based on supporting data, tests and FPC audit and uploaded to the publicly available Certifire product register. Promotion of product certification and the Certifire scheme through Warringtonfire will also create brand awareness and value of the certified products.

Surveillance audit – This audit will occur every 12 months to ensure that the factory production control systems continue to meet the qualification criteria.

Ongoing requirements – A review of the product will occur every five years.

Branding – Certified products will carry the Certifire brand. 

There are significant benefits to both the end-users and the manufacturers for the use of product certification, as outlined here

Benefits of product certification to end-users

•      All relevant test evidence for the product is reviewed and confirmed to ensure that the stated performance of the product is validated

•      Confirms the quality of the product produced and ensures that the mass-produced product reflects the tested product

•      The product is reliable and functions as intended, ensuring the quality of the product is maintained

•      There is the ability to track where the product comes from, what factory, batch number etc

One of the main benefits of certification is giving the regulator, the specifier, the client and end-user confidence with regards to the stated performance of the product, which allows them an informed choice when selecting what product to use.

Benefits of product certification to manufacturers

• Enables your product to stand out from the competition with a visible mark representing quality.
• Demonstrates to customers that the product has undergone a rigorous audit and testing process, showing your commitment to quality.
• Helps improve internal processes of factory production control at the manufacturing facilities, as a management system such as ISO 9001 will be implemented. This improves the consistency and quality of the produced product, ultimately a cost-saving process to the manufacturer.
• Eliminates inferior products from the marketplace and increases the market share of companies with quality certified products.

Passive fire products are installed to improve fire safety, where failure could have significant consequences, so you want to trust the products being installed and have certainty of the performance of the product now.

Certification provides greater confidence in the product and that it will be fit for its intended purpose. In turn, it gives confidence in the quality of the building being constructed, eliminating the uncertainty gap that currently plagues the construction industry.

Product certification is a natural progression within this industry, that what is specified on a project is the same quality, carrying the same performance to the installed product.

JAS-ANZ has endorsed the Certifire product certification scheme as being suitable for the issuance of JAS-ANZ accredited certification. JAS-ANZ is the government-appointed accreditation body for Australia and New Zealand responsible for providing accreditation of conformity assessment bodies (CABs) in the fields of certification and inspection. As such, it means that Certifire will be able to give you a high-level service that can be counted on to perform its duties in a professional, compliant and impartial manner.

To talk to an expert, please contact us.