In the United States and Canada there are organizations that administer the development of voluntary consensus standards. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) administers these standards for the United States and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) administers these for Canada. Voluntary consensus standards are written through a rigorous development and review process by industry experts, users, manufacturers, government regulators and other stakeholders. These standards represent what is considered to be the minimum acceptable requirements for industry products and practices.
In the fall protection industry, two major series of standards set forth the requirements for our products: the ANSI Z359 series of standards in the United States and the CSA Z259 series of standards. In addition, ANSI A10.14-1991 covers products used in the construction and demolition industries. Compliance with these standards may not be a legal requirement in many areas, however compliance does have legal relevance for everyone from the manufacturer to the user. In addition, in the United States, OSHA sets standards for certain products either not covered in one of the ANSI standards, or in addition to them.
At Elk River, we label each product with the standard numbers(s) and year to which the products comply. Elk River uses multiple techniques to ensure our products comply with the applicable standards we use internal engineering controls, extensive product testing both internal and external, as well as our industry expertise. In addition to this, we use "third party" certification on many of our products.
"Third party" certification means we have submitted the product to an independent, outside body for testing and certification. Our labels indicate whether the product is "compliant" or "certified" and if "certified" by whom.
When sourcing fall protection, you can rest assured of Elk River's commitment to assuring our products meet or exceed the applicable National Consensus Standards, as well as government regulations. We can supply test records, product certifications, or independent certification as appropriate.
Quality System Standards
One way Elk River ensures each product complies with National Consensus standards is through our ISO 9001:2000 compliant Quality Management System. ISO 9001:2000 is a standard developed to establish the best practices for Quality Management Systems. The ISO 9001:2000 standard is recognized worldwide as the blue print for quality systems, and is considered the "Gold Standard" in quality management systems.
The 2000 version of ISO 9001 is much more extensive than previous versions. Previous versions were product oriented, whereas the 2000 version is much more customer oriented and system oriented. The2000 version covers every aspect of a company that interacts with the customer. It is a very rigorous process, but one that is very beneficial.
Elk River's Quality Management system has been certified as compliant by an external registration organization, with a worldwide reputation. A copy of our certification to ISO 9001:2000 is available upon request.
