Product tested Vs Product certified, understanding the difference

Do you ever think about all those marks and logos on equipment or product? You should; they’re your assurance of product quality. Product testing and certifications ensure a product is designed and manufactured with quality as a prime objective. Before any construction products can be sold, installed, or put into use, they must go through substantial product testing procedures to ensure they meet safety requirements.

In recent times, the trends are moving toward Fire-retardant ACP products that guarantee safety. Safe Fire-retardant ACP plays a vital role in saving lives during a disaster, realising this the demand for FR ACP went up leading to various manufacturers bringing FR ACP products into the market. This gave rise to a new problem, the authenticity of the ACP products.

Certain products are FR Tested while some are FR Certified. What’s the difference between the two? Which is more authentic and reliable? Let’s find the answers below.
Eurobond being the market leader and expert in the FR ACP products would like to educate the readers in order to make them aware of the difference so that they can make decisions accordingly. When a product is claiming to be ‘Product Tested’ or has a ‘Test Certificate’ that particular product’s sample is sent to a Lab and the particular sample is tested. On the basis of the quality and the endurance of the sample, a report is generated and then a tested certificate is given to the product. So, the test certificate is based on the product’s sample material.

On the other hand, ‘Product certified’ or ‘FPC (Factory Production Certificate)’ is totally different and a long-term testing procedure. The company has to go through a ‘Certifier Programme’ for a period of 3 to a 5-year based on the agreement signed by the company and the Certifying Agency. The Certifying Agency on a regular basis visits the company’s manufacturing unit for audit and checks along with the reviews of the complete production method, process parameters, all production records of raw materials used, testing parameters decided, and criteria of acceptance records. In case there is a slight fault in the above parameters then the firm’s certification can be revoked. Thus, the quality of the product is maintained. The user should always check for EN 13501 certifications rather than tests.

Thus, this is the difference between Product tested Vs Product certified. Eurobond believes in certification; our FR Plus and A2 ACPs are certified by Exova Warringtonfire, a renowned and reputed lab. Each sheet of these products bears our certification number on the back, which can be cross-checked with the Exova website to verify the necessary parameters. We request the users to check for factory certification before buying the product as it plays an important role in maintaining your safety.