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Test House Directory 2021 n 3


t’s now nearly four years since the Grenfell Tower disaster shocked the nation and shook the construction industry into a period of both self examination and external scrutiny in the form of the ongoing Grenfell Inquiry. As the inquiry delves into the history of the specification and supply of the now infamous external cladding panels, multiple failures are apparent and


these will provide lessons across many industries when the inquiry closes and its conclusions are published. Cutting through the results of the inquiry so far, one of the central key issues is


product certification. BS 476-1 defines the tests on building materials and BS EN 13501-1 provides the fire classifications of the products. As with most standards, their interpretation isn’t straightforward and this complexity is added to with the 1991 Building Regulations that also defines fire ratings. One of these is Class 0 which relates to the spread of fire across the material surface. A sheet of steel would have a good chance of achieving a Class 0 rating, whereas a sheet of cardboard wouldn’t. What about a sheet of cardboard sandwiched between two sheets of steel? The answer is that it probably would but it’s not the appropriate standard for that material construction. To test, market and use a material against an inappropriate standard contributes to creating products that will fail in possibly disastrous ways. In other industries, test and certification providers are increasingly becoming sources of consultancy and expertise in the understanding and interpretation of the vast array of standards to which products need to comply. The internet of things (both industrial and consumer products) is adding


thousands of new products into the scope of certification requirements that earlier would not have needed to be compliant with RED / EMC etc. Similarly, automotive technology is advancing so rapidly, it’s hard for many of


the smaller players in the industry to keep up with the certification requirements. The good news is the established test house expertise in the UK is well


renowned for its breadth and depth of expertise and has the opportunity to guide manufacturers along the right path to prevent similarly terrible disasters as Grenfell from happening again.


Jonathan Newell, Editor, Testing & Test Houses


Misleading to disaster


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