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Project Description
NOCSAE is the acronym for the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, SEI is short for Safety Equipment Institute, both of them are nonprofit corporation. NOCSAE sets standards for baseball, lacrosse, football helmets, soccer shin guards. And the purpose of SEI’s certification program is to assist government agencies along with users and manufacturers of safety equipment in meeting their mutual goal of protecting the workers and consumers with safety equipment in keeping with recognized standards and the current state of the art.
FAQ
Q: How about the cost ?
A: Application - Initial Stage
1. Application fee (one-time fee)
2. Product testing
3. Annual Per Model Certification fee
4. Annual participation Fee
5. Initial quality audit
Maintenance Stage
1. Surveillance audits
2. Annual re-certification product testing
3. Annual participation
4. Annual certification per model
In additional,with NOCSAE they pay a royalty rate for each piece of equipment they sell (example .10 per pair of shin guards) and report those and pay on a quarterly basis.
Q: How about the information that needed to be submitted?
A: Application - Initial Stage
1. Submission of signed manufacturer’s agreement, two copies
2. Submission of a copy of indemnity (product liability) insurance policy to demonstrate adequate coverage and inclusion of SEI as an additional insured
3. Product submittal form completed, one per model, including product description. Original to be sent to SEI
4. Test samples to be sent directly to testing laboratory, accompanied by a copy of the SEI Certification Submittal Form
5. On-site initial quality assurance audit of the described quality system to verify that it has been satisfactorily implemented and maintained at the manufacturing facility(ies).
Maintenance Stage
1. Surveillance audits to verify continued compliance of the manufacturer’s quality system. Initial frequency of two audits per year. SEI may to reduce to one per year after three successful visits. (Certification to a NFPA Standard requires two audits per year)
2. Annual selection of samples to represent each certified model - selected during on- site audits and submitted to the SEI laboratory for re-certification testing.
3. Manufacturer’s internal periodic testing to confirm continued compliance of certified product with the reference standard
4. Notification to SEI of any changes to the product or quality systems. Required actions to be assessed by SEI and notification to the manufacturer.
Q: How about the time period generally taken to complete the certification?
A: The actual testing turnaround at is 10-15 business days. To get all the paperwork executed with NOCSAE and SEI is a couple of months, possible sooner if you or someone stays on it.
Q: How about the requirement for samples?
A: At least three pair for each model/size.
Q: How about the certificate valid?
A: There is nothing in the NOCSAE standard that requires product to be recertifed on any regular basis. NOCSAE does reccomend that organizations adopt and follow a program of product inspection and reconditioning that meets their particular needs, based on age and size of players, severity of product usage, ages of product, among other factors.