SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

	Full-scale custom fire testing

A third-party quality assurance program is offered by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to assist manufacturers in obtaining product certifications, evaluation reports, or type approvals.

Products, materials, and assemblies in good standing in this program are published in the Directory of Listed Products. This directory is online and available for you to search by category, client name, product name, listing and labeling number, or test method to verify that a product has been approved and listed.

The listing and labeling program ensures the product that reaches the consumer is similar to the product that was approved through testing.

Listing and Labeling Procedures

To document the manufacturing and preparation of the test sample, our inspector is present when the test samples are being prepared. The samples are marked by the inspector, and we verify these markings when the samples arrive at the lab.

Only manufacturing facilities found to have a production and quality system that guarantee the continued production quality of the product are accepted in our Program.

Listing and Labeling Documentation

After successful test results are obtained, a Follow-Up Procedure (FUP) Document is prepared. This document describes the product, the manufacturing process, and all critical aspects that, if changed, could affect the performance of the product. The information contained in the document is verified through a visit to the manufacturing plant.

The official implementation of the program takes place after controlled copies of the FUP Document are issued to authorized holders, the use of the SwRI label is authorized, and the product is added to the SwRI Directory of Listed Products.

Follow-Up Inspections

Third-party inspectors in the vicinity of the manufacturing plants visit the plants at prescribed intervals to verify the products continue to be made as described in the FUP Document and that only authorized labels are used.

Following is a list of some of the entities that use this Program in support of their product certification/approval programs:

• Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

• General Services Administration (GSA)

• International Code Council Evaluation Service (ICC-ES)

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

• Texas Department of Insurance (TDI)

• United States Coast Guard (USCG)

• State of Florida Department of Community Affairs

• Miami Metro—Dade County

• City of New York

The SwRI Product Certification Program covers materials and products found in the construction, telecommunications, transportation, petrochemical/chemical, and manufacturing industries, including aboveground storage tanks for flammable liquids and fire extinguishing agents and systems.

For more information about third-party quality assurance and product certification capabilities or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Tim Koebke, M.S., at tkoebke@swri.org or (210) 522-6976.

3rdpartyqa.swri.org

| Fire Technology Department | Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Division | SwRI Home |

Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

March 06, 2013