Safety issues ongoing

A total of 17 products were purchased and tested, including mattresses, sofabeds and headboards – 11 from NBF members and six from non-members. The products were tested, opened and examined.

All but one of the non-member products were found wanting, with several major failures in both flammability testing results and trade description issues, with some advertised spring counts being over-stated and some fillings not being present in certain products at all. One mattress advertised as a ‘contract’ mattress meeting Crib 5 failed so spectacularly that it had to be forcibly extinguished.

Results were shared with the retailers of the non-NBF member company products, enabling them to use the information to conduct their own investigations with their supplier.

There were also concerns with a few of the NBF member products, although in general these were minor issues around labelling and incorrect product descriptions on the retailers’ websites. All issues were discussed and resolved directly with the NBF members concerned.

The findings on all products, NBF member and non-NBF member, are also shared with the NBF’s Primary Authority Partner, West Yorkshire Trading Standards who investigate further where appropriate or pass the details on to the relevant trading standards office.

Since the NBF started its Due Diligence Testing Programme back in 2018, it has examined over 130 products, split fairly equally between NBF members and nonmembers.

Tristine Hargreaves, executive director at the NBF commented: “The NBF due diligence testing programme was introduced to support the code of practice audits by checking that our members are continuing to meet their obligations on a day-to-day basis and not just at the time of an audit. Whilst there were some minor issues that we have been helping members resolve, it is pleasing to see there were no safety related issues on NBF member products found during this round of purchases, which offers re-assurance when buying from an NBF approved member.

“The due diligence testing programme is a great way of benchmarking the overall industry levels of compliance of products placed on the market and it is disappointing to see that there are still issues with non-compliance to safety related matters on the non-member side. We would encourage manufacturers to download the NBF best practice guidance on flammability testing that is available to all manufacturers, including non-members, as this is a very useful guide in helping to understand the requirements.”

Just another day in China

Paul Wray, Managing Director of Furntec Ltd and Modern Outlook Furniture, shares an insight into quality control and the importance of maintaining high standards.

The biggest part of our day is Quality Control (QC), and having worked in China for over 25 years, it’s imperative that you have a complete quality control procedure in place for checking each and every one of your products being made.

Now with a full QC team working across China, and overseeing the team and its reports, it’s good to know that the products you are producing are as you ordered for the customer. I have seen many horrors over the years, and it still happens with products being made substandard and shipped without any checks being made by customers buying directly from factories. To give you an example, one particular factory produced a complete run of sofas, in a completely different colour fabric to what was originally specified. When I asked why, I was told by the factory that they had run out of the particular colour ordered so they decided to put on a fabric that they thought looked nice! It happens, so don’t get caught out.

For me, it’s also very important I visit my teams across China to not only check what they are doing but to support them in their job. It can be very lonely when your based in a factory in the middle of nowhere for weeks quality controlling and checking product with no direct contact from the company. Support is always needed and trust me; you will always get the best from your staff when you show you actually care and take notice of what they do.

Our teams undergo thorough training from our company and we emphasise the BEST QUALITY must be achieved for each and every one of our customers, no matter how big or small.

Please, if you are buying from China and you have no QC in place checking your products being produced, don’t leave it to chance. Our company offers a complete AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit) service where we select product from production for inspection to determine if the customers product order has met the specifications. Based on the sampling data, the AQL standard can help determine whether to accept the product or reject everything.

Modern Outlook Furniture assists businesses of all sizes in procurement from China at any stage of your project. If you would like a no obligation conversation about how we can assist you and help you avoid any costly issues or nasty surprises, please do get in touch!

paulw@modernoutlook.cn www.linkedin.com/in/paul-wray-79403935/