Published on : Wednesday, April 2, 2014
FIRA and BFM, the two furniture associations will be jointly hosting an industry event focusing on the UK’s flammability regulations following a BBC investigation earlier this year into non-compliant products.
The Technical Flammability Seminar, run by the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) and the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA), is aimed at manufacturers and will take place on April 11 at FIRA’s headquarters in Stevenage.
In January, an episode of consumer affairs programme, Fake Britain, highlighted a number of furniture products on sale in the UK that did not comply with flammability regulations. Since then, the furniture industry has been working hard to understand how these products have slipped through the net and look at tightening due diligence processes to prevent issues in the future.
“The Fake Britain investigation has caused some concern, and highlighted some weaknesses in current due diligence systems.” said Phil Reynolds, Chief Operating Officer for FIRA International.
He continued: “FIRA’s flammability experts have been working with a number of retailers to find practical solutions. We recently arranged a meeting involving retailers, manufacturers, back coaters and chemical suppliers to discuss potential issues, solutions and risk minimisation. FIRA is also carrying out some testing following a proposal by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to amend the UK’s flammability regulations. This event will be aimed purely at manufacturers and is designed to provide technical information to help the industry pull together to resolve the issues highlighted by the programme.”
The agenda for the day will include information about the ‘fall-out’ from the Fake Britain investigation, the work being carried out to understand the problems with the supply chain and find solutions going forward. It will also look at FIRA’s research into BIS’ proposal for the new regulations.
The Seminar will start at 10:30am and finish at 2pm with lunch provided. It will be held at FIRA’s headquarters on Maxwell Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 3EW.
Established sixty four years ago, the Furniture Industry Research Association was set by the industry for the industry. It provides invaluable technical support to the entire furniture supply chain and funds projects for the benefit of the industry.
British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) is a trade association for UK based furniture manufacturers, employers’ organisation and member of the European Furniture Manufacturers’ Association.
Tags: BFM, British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM), FIRA, Phil Reynolds, The Technical Flammability Seminar
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