Testing and verification of products play a critical role in consumer safety. From vehicles to medicine, to spray foam, everyone wants to be confident that the product they get is the same as the one that met all of the safety and performance testing when the product was approved for use. To ensure this, compliance for most consumer products requires that a representative from the testing laboratory shows up at the manufacturing facility and randomly selects products to be tested. This “random” selection prevents individuals or companies from making one product to pass the test and another to sell to consumers. In essence, this process makes sure we all get the quality of product we are supposed to.
How does this relate to spray foam insulation? Simply put, the use of coatings over SPF has grown to the point that the time has come to ensure the products being used meet the highest standards everywhere they are used, every time.
Safety Code AC456
Safety code AC456 puts the same quality assurance requirements on coatings companies as the ones that have been in place for years with the SPF manufacturers. The new standard offers a safety and liability security blanket both for the contractor and the end user.
Gary Wolfe from Paint to Protect stated, “As the leading manufacturer of thermal barrier coatings, the number one question I get asked asked by Authorities have Jurisdiction (AHJ’s) or for a liability claim is: ‘How do I know that the products used during assembly testing are the same SPF and coating installed on my job site?’” Without random testing or anyone watching over the process, AHJ’s feared manufacturers weren’t being required to produce a consistent standard.
Prior to the passing of AC456, the SPF industry was facing the potential of having to go back to using only drywall for fire protection. Many AHJ’s have been at their breaking point and threatening to ban coatings over SPF as an option for thermal barrier. Anyone in the industry knows that would have an effect on SPF sales.
Paint to Protect prides themselves on being pioneers in testing and compliance because it protects both the contractors and their customers. This level of responsibility ensures the ongoing use of coatings for fire protection over SPF, and more importantly, it’s now required by law.
Preparing for AC456
While AC456 is not code until October 2017, code officials are already demanding compliance, and so should you. Keep in mind, any coating company can apply and test to AC456 standards, but as of the writing of this article, to the best of our knowledge, only Paint to Protect has. The following documentation (available on Paint to Protect’s website) supports their claim of leading the industry as the most tested and proven coating available.
- DC315 Testing Matrix Clearly shows IFTI’s CCRR 1076, IAPMO’s ER 0499 and ICC-ES 3702 all clearly show DC 315 compliance to AC 456, IBC & IRC codes.
Paint to Protect’s DC315 product is and has been third-party listed and inspected by several international organizations such as UL, WHI, and FM, and their manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001. All testing conducted with Paint to Protect has been completed at accredited fire testing labs compliant to AC85 requirements including photos of sampled and validated product that is manufactured in accordance with strict quality assurance and consistency requirements.
In keeping with our goal of always providing you with the best products and information for your company, we wanted to share this information. As soon as we receive compliance documentation or information on any of the other products in this category, we will make sure you know. Once again, thank you for reading, and thank you for the opportunity to help grow your business.