IFA test and certification body for awarding the DGUV Test-mark and the IFA-mark

As one of the test bodies in the framework of the DGUV Test, IFA awards the DGUV Test-mark for safety-relevant components and groups of components once these meet the safety and health requirements currently valid in the Federal Republic of Germany and as long as only products that correspond to the type are brought onto the market. As a control measure, the manufacturer can select between random sampling and examination, certification, and monitoring of its quality management system conducted by the test body.

The safety-relevant components and groups of components are:

• Non-ready-for-use technical working equipment such as wheelbarrows and carts for boxes and devices, controls (also safety components) of all types of technology, protective installations such as photo-electric grid barriers, laser scanners, pressure-sensitive (switching) mats, pressure-sensitive (switching) strips, switching buffers, and protective grating or transparent screens and
• Components such as position switches, emergency shut-off controls, locked safety covers, flexible hoses, valves, and safety quick disconnection couples.

IFA certifies floor coverings and grilles in the field of architectural safety elements. The DGUV Test-mark for floor covering also includes information on the material's slip-retarding properties. Ladders, steps, step irons, loading ramps, gates, scaffolds, safety nets, and roofing and ceiling construction elements are tested on behalf of the expert committee Structural Objects. DGUV Test-marks are also awarded for several basic materials of personal protective equipment, such as reflecting materials for warning colour clothing.

For measuring and sampling equipment for determining the concentration of hazardous materials at workplaces, IFA awards its own IFA mark for sampling systems and direct-display measuring systems. In sampling systems, IFA tests the pump-based collecting tube systems and diffusion samplers based on activated charcoal and silica gel, whereas sampling test-tube systems and measuring systems operating on an electronic basis are certified as direct-display measuring systems.

The expertise of the IFA test body is described in the accreditation certificates of the Central Office of Safety Technology of the Länder (ZLS) and their records