Trolley Units

The inability in South Africa for manufacturers to certify mobile fire extinguishers, better known as trolley units, has become a major challenge.

Currently SANS 11601, the relevant standard for wheeled units, is referenced in SANS 10091 which is mandated by the South African Pressure Equipment Regulations contained in the OSH Act No 85 of 1993.

This means that South African manufacturers need to ensure that the trolley units they sell, are certified in accordance with SANS 11601.

However, only the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) currently has this in their scope of accreditation, but according to a South African manufacturer whose trolleys were certified by the SABS in the past, the SABS no longer has the ability to test these trolleys.

The implications if these uncertified trolley units are sold to an end user is that, should these have to be reconditioned as per SANS 1475 Part 1, a competent person registered with the SAQCC Fire will not be able to sign off on the service label if such a unit does not bear a certification mark. This exposes the end user to take responsibility for an uncertified fire extinguisher which may lead to dire consequences.

Interested parties such as FFETA, the SAQCC Fire, manufacturers and 1475 permit holders have had many discussions to resolve this, however to date there is no clear solution.

This manufacturer, whose trolleys were certified when the SABS still had the capacity, confirmed that their trolley units are certified in accordance with EN 1866(not recognized by South Africa) and the units are CE marked and have the product safety certification, Module B + C2(Design/Type approval) and Module H. The manufacturer has registered a proposal with the SABS to adopt EN 1866 and to replace SANS 11601, however there has been no progress on this proposal.

As some of the manufacturers are represented at FFETA, FFETA would endeavour to support the effort to find a solution which will include taking up the matter with the Department of Employment and Labour.