South African voluntary safety association Safehouse has highlighted that while many electrical products found on local store shelves were assumed, by consumers, to have been vetted by the retailer and were thus safe, this, alas, was not always the case. Independent industry testing had consistently shown high rates of failure to comply with electrical product standards.

“You can’t see electrical safety with the naked eye,” pointed out Safehouse chairperson and technical lead Connie Jonker. “Two products may look identical on a shelf, yet one can meet every requirement while the other fails critical safety tests. That’s why ongoing compliance testing matters, and why consumers and retailers need a way to know who is doing things properly.”

The country did not have reliable electrical product compliance statistics. A problem was the influx of non-compliant electrical products, either illicitly across the porous borders, or via online buying. The result was that there were many products for sale in South Africa that did not meet safety requirements.

“Different products carry different risks,” he explained. “If a circuit breaker doesn’t trip when needed, you could have a fire or an electrical shock. Other issues, such as incorrect marking, may not be immediately dangerous but can lead to products being used incorrectly. Buying very cheap products increases the risk of serious non-compliance.”

Too often, retailers relied blindly on documentation, instead of rigorously scrutinizing it, particularly when prices were low. They should verify test reports and Letters of Authority before stocking the products. They needed to understand what they were stocking and so serve as the first line of defence for consumers.

Safehouse was established in 2014, because of the ineffective regulation and failure to provide robust oversight of the market by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS). The NRCS mainly relied on single type-test reports and administrative approvals and did not undertake ongoing quality control (an omission which significantly increased the risk of undetected noncompliance). On top of this, the NRCS refused to reveal which products were noncompliant, exposing consumers to risk. The agency was trying to act against illicit trade, but its impact was minimal – affecting just 0.5% of the country’s R100-billion total (across all sectors, not just electrical) illicit trade.

Safehouse operated on a peer review system and its members had funded a laboratory to test products, as visual inspection alone could not determine noncompliance. A strict code of conduct was applied. Tests cost several thousand rand each.

“We send test results to companies and urge them to fix issues, and if not, we report to the NRCS,” reported Jonker. “But not much happens after that. It is also virtually impossible to track what action, if any, the NRCS takes on any compliance issues raised.”

But products which passed the testing were awarded the Safehouse mark. Companies which achieved this were updating their product packaging to show it.

“Robust processes are being put in place thanks to our members’ continued commitment to product safety and regulatory compliance,” he highlighted. “Consumers can now make more informed and reliable choices by selecting products bearing the Safehouse mark and checking the Safehouse website to verify suppliers and businesses that are accredited members.”