Survey Reveals 60% of Electricians Encounter Non-compliant Products
The NAPIT Trade Association has recently increased its efforts to work with key industry partners in order to address the impact non-compliant, defective, suspicious or counterfeit products are having on electrical installers.
It comes in response to the concerning results of a major installer survey which showed that:
Nearly 60% of respondents encounter non-compliant electrical products but don’t report them and, of these, nearly half (45%) said that it was because they didn't know where to report them to.
53% said they caused an inconvenience and 25% said they have caused a direct safety risk to customers.
45% of electrical installers are unsure whether they have the necessary knowledge to identify counterfeit electrical goods in most cases.
95% of the respondents would like to receive further guidance on how to identify counterfeit/non-compliant electrical products.
Commenting on the survey, NAPIT Group Technical Director and Trade Association Chairman Frank Bertie said: When we heard the serious concerns one of our members and saw those concerns directly reflected in the experiences of hundreds of installers through our electrical products survey, the need to tackle the problem became clear.
That's why we have created a new Defective, Suspicious or Counterfeit Products Reporting Form in cooperation with BEAMA, a trade association which represents manufacturers of electrical infrastructure products, and the Electrotechical Market Surveillance Group (EMS).
The new form will allow NAPIT members to draw attention to potentially dangerous electrical products and pass that information on to EMS member organisations, who conduct their own product testing using independent labs to build cases of mis-selling – working with Trading Standards and/or the Health & Safety Executive to get dangerous products removed from the shelves.
At the same time, we're working with likeminded organisations to support 'Does it Comply?' – a multilateral industry initiative designed increase awareness of the dangers of substandard electrical products.
This new website is a fantastic resource which will be invaluable to NAPIT members and non-members alike who want to find out about non-compliant and counterfeit products and report any problems they come across.
To find out more, about the work of the NAPIT Trade Association, visit: www.napit.org.uk/trade-association/trade-association
And for more information and reporting guidance on defective, suspicious or counterfeit products, head to: www.doesitcomply.co.uk
Article Published:
15 October 2015
survey