ASTA Standards provide a product testing solution when there is no appropriate National, European or IEC Standard.
These standards are particularly useful for products incorporating new or innovative features, which are outside the scope of currently published standards.
The overriding requirement is to ensure such products provide an equivalent level of safety as products complying with published standards. ASTA Standards provide a means by which designers and manufacturers can be satisfied that their product is safe to sell in the market.
The requirements of ASTA Standards are often submitted to the committees responsible for National, European or IEC Standards when the application is judged to have relevance for future products. The new requirements may then become incorporated into future published standards. An example is the plastic pin (known as an insulated shutter opening device) which is fitted to many BS 1363-1 plugs for class II applications. The requirements for this innovation started as an ASTA Standard before being incorporated in BS 1363-1.
Related links
- ASTA Diamond Mark
- ASTA Type Test Certification
- ASTA Test Reports
- ASTA 20 Fuse Endorsement Scheme
- ASTA Observers (witnessed testing)
