Did you know that every product that ASSE International certifies must be individually reviewed and balloted by the ASSE Seal Control Board (SCB)? SCB members give a great deal of their time working to make sure all reports are accurate and that ASSE’s performance standards are met.
The overall mission of the ASSE Seal Control Board is to control the integrity of the ASSE Seal – to ensure that it continues to stand for quality and safety within the plumbing industry. The ASSE Seal certifies the completion of rigorous testing mandated by the relevant ASSE standard.
Throughout the year, the SCB works remotely with ASSE engineers to approve each and every new model certified at ASSE. In addition to approving products to receive the seal, the SCB also publicly meets twice a year to discuss and improve the certification process itself.
For a product to gain certification, the results of all tests required by a standard must be reviewed and approved by the SCB. A packet with a copy of the standard, test results, spec sheets, instructions, and ballot is emailed to SCB members from each of the five member categories. The SCB members then have one to three weeks to review the packet. Each of these five members then either approve or deny the application. If denied, clarification of the testing results or additional testing is generally needed.
The SCB denies certification if any errors are found, or if any test results are unclear. The majority of denials are from unclear statements, typos, or other documentation errors. Once the report is clarified, errors are corrected, or additional testing is completed, SCB members re-ballot on the packet. In most cases, the report corrections, re-ballot, and approval only takes about three to five days.
Currently, the Seal Control Board has 11 members from all segments of our industry, including four engineers, three contractors, one inspector, one educator, and two general ASSE members. The approval process of the SCB can be time consuming. This, in large part, is due to the number of new models we certify each year. Each balloting packet has between one and 12 test reports with multiple models, spec sheets, and instructions.
Seal Control Board members have deep knowledge of the current plumbing standards and are held in a high regard within the industry. Our balloting process ensures the integrity of the ASSE Seal and is one of the reasons for the enduring respect of the ASSE certification mark.
ASSE’s certification process, completed in large part by volunteer experts who are motivated by public safety, sets ASSE apart from other certification bodies. We truly appreciate the SCB for their dedication and for all of the work they do maintaining the integrity of the ASSE Seal.
