Latham – Compliant and Conforming Product to Eliminate Certification Risk
02 Jan

Latham – Compliant and Conforming Product to Eliminate Certification Risk

Adam Latham

Australian Standards set out specifications, procedures and guidelines that aim to ensure products, services, and systems are safe, consistent, and reliable. 

On their own, standards are voluntary and there is no requirement for the public to comply with standards. However, State and Commonwealth governments often refer to Australian Standards in their legislation, and when they are incorporated into legislation, they become legally enforceable. 

Latham digital postcards (1)It is very common for standards to be incorporated into law, with obvious examples including, the placement and availability of fire extinguishers and standards surrounding car seat fittings for infants. For Latham, key standards include AS 1428.1:2021 Design for Access and Mobility and AS 4586-2013 Slip Resistance Classification of New Pedestrian Surface Materials.  

For participants in the construction industry, this is a potential minefield that needs to be carefully navigated, and requires an understanding of compliance, conformance and certification. 

Compliance

8173010In the case of products, standards compliance means that the product strictly adheres to the requirements stated in current published standards. It is worth noting that compliance to an Australian Standard is not enforced or monitored in Australia. A manufacturer may claim compliance based on self-testing and buyers should beware that the product may be sold with unsubstantiated claims of compliance. 

Re-sellers of imported product often rely on assurances of compliance from the manufacturer, or they may perform their own rudimentary testing before claiming ‘compliance’ and commencing sale of the product. With little influence over manufacturing, manufacturer testing or quality control, or failure to pay attention to evolving and updated standards, compliance is not a ‘given’. 

Importantly, compliance does not mean identical engineering, materials, design and manufacturing, and there are vast differences in quality, reliability and performance between compliant products. 

Latham has been manufacturing products in Australia at its premises in Sydney for 70 years. End-to-end control and oversight of procurement, manufacturing and quality control results the industry’s most reliable and high-performing products. Latham publish test results to demonstrate compliance with prevailing standards and have in-house testing facilities for luminance contrast testing of stair nosings to further minimise compliance risk. 

Conformance

curver_nosingIn many cases, industry standards are old and are not worded with the precision of more recent standards documents. This means that interpretation of the standard is often more subjective than objective. Latham have a deep understanding of industry standards and our team offer conservative interpretations of standards based on accumulated industry experience. 

Rather than trying to shoehorn a specific interpretation of a standard into a limited product range, the Latham product range is intended to cover any interpretation of a standard and is the widest product range in the industry. Irrespective of the application, Latham has a compliant product in its standard range. 

Certification

Once a product has been installed, the building certifier is the final arbiter of compliance and conformance. A building certifier is a trained professional who will inspect and approve building work and make sure it complies with the relevant aspects of approved building plans and appropriate building standards. 

Latham will ensure you select a compliant and conforming product for your application and eliminate certification risk. 

To find out more about Latham products, please visit www.latham-australia.com. To talk to a Latham product expert, call 1300 LATHAM (528 426) or email sales@latham-australia.com. 

We look forward to hearing from you. 

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Adam Latham

As the Technical Sales & Product Development Manager at Latham Australia, I am responsible for ensuring that all our products will meet the specified needs of architects and the buildings they design, now and into the future. Along with mentoring and supporting our sales team, I work closely with our factory production team, direct clients and distribution partners to develop new products to satisfy an ever changing market. All in all, my job involves knowing everything there is to know about the Latham products - how we manufacture them, what they are used for and how much our customers know they can rely on them.

Keep me updated.

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