The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS), has issued the Department Administrative Order (DAO) 22-09, series of 2022 providing the new technical regulation concerning the mandatory product certification of monobloc chairs and stools. The said DAO took effect on 17 July 2022, fifteen (15) days after its publication in The Philippine Star and Daily Tribune last 02 July 2022.
“Monobloc chairs and stools have long been included in the DTI-BPS’ list of products under mandatory certification. Since they are household staples and are commonly used in offices and public multipurpose halls, it is very important to ensure their quality for the safety of the users. With DAO 22-09, we have updated the reference product standards and specified the requirements and tests for monobloc chairs and stools intended for outdoor use. This includes weatherability test wherein the product is exposed to laboratory conditions that accelerate the effect of natural weathering, thus ensuring their suitability in the outdoors,” said DTI Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Undersecretary Atty. Ruth B. Castelo.
DAO 22-09 aims to strictly ensure that monobloc chairs and stools for indoor and/or outdoor use that will be imported, manufactured, distributed, or sold in the Philippines meet the specified quality requirements as prescribed in the technical regulation.
The Philippine Standard (PS) Quality Certification Mark Licensing Scheme shall be available to both local and foreign manufacturers selling and/or distributing monobloc chairs and stools in the Philippine market. For imported monobloc chairs and stools, the importer shall apply for either Statement of Confirmation (SOC) for PS-certified products or Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) for non-PS certified products on a per shipment per Bill of Lading/Airway Bill basis.
Product testing to determine the strength, durability, and stability of monobloc chairs and stools shall be conducted by the BPS Testing Laboratory or BPS-recognized testing laboratories. The tests are designed to be applied to fully assembled and ready for use chairs and stools. In addition, the loads or forces and dimensions in the tests are applicable to chairs and stools intended for adult persons.
For indoor use, the following tests shall be conducted: seat static load, back static load with balancing load, arm sideways static load, wing sideways static load, seat fatigue test, back fatigue test combined with balancing load, leg forward static load with balancing seat load, leg sideways static load with balancing seat load, diagonal base load, seat impact test, arm impact test, and drop test. Meanwhile, for outdoor use, the following tests shall be conducted: periodic weatherability test (tensile test), static load, impact test, rear-leg test, and stability test.
To verify product conformance, the general test requirements, test environment and apparatus, and test methods prescribed by PNS 1478-1:2018 “Furniture – Monobloc chairs and stools – Specification for indoor use” and PNS 1478-2:2018 “Furniture – Monobloc chairs and stools – Specification for outdoor use” shall be used. Considering the regular updating of standards, the latest edition of the PNS shall be used as reference. Future amendments of the relevant PNS shall be effective two years after their promulgation to provide ample time to all stakeholders to adjust and conform to the new requirements, if any.
“The BPS/Technical Committee (TC) 41 on Furniture has developed two separate standards for indoor and outdoor monobloc chairs and stools. This is to prevent misuse of users with regards to the said products. In preparing PNS 1478-1:2018 for monobloc chairs and stools for indoor use, the ISO 7173:1989 – Level 3 and BS EN 1728:2012 were considered for the test methods on the determination of strength, durability, and stability of chairs and stools. Meanwhile, for PNS 1478-2:2018, the ASTM standard [ASTM F1561:2003 (Reapproved 2014)] was considered specifically the performance requirements for plastic chairs and stools for outdoor. During the development of these standards, monobloc manufacturers were involved particularly on the deliberations on the specifications and test requirements of monobloc chairs and stools for outdoor use,” said Engr. Victor G. Revilleza, Chairman of the BPS/TC 41 and Supervising Science Research Specialist from the Department of Science and Technology – Forest Products Research and Development Institute.
“Since DAO 22-09 identified the two types of monobloc chairs and stools (i.e., for indoor or outdoor use) that will be sold in the market, manufacturers can focus on the type of monobloc chairs and stools they want to produce that are of quality, suitable for their intended purpose, and provide utmost safety to the consumers,” added Engr. Revilleza.
For traceability and verification purposes as well as consumers’ reference, the following shall be marked legibly on manufactured or imported monobloc chairs and stools:
- Name and address of manufacturer or importer in the Philippines;
- Registered trade name or brand name;
- Capacity in kg;
- “For indoor use” or “For outdoor use”, whichever is applicable;
- Additional marking on proper handling and usage;
- The words “Made in the Philippines” or country of origin, if imported;
- Batch/lot no./production date; and
- PS Mark with License Number or ICC Sticker, whichever is applicable
For the transitory provisions, all manufacturers with existing valid PS License shall comply with the procedures and requirements of this new technical regulation on the subsequent surveillance audit but not earlier than 17 January 2023. All pending PS applications received prior to the effectivity of DAO 22-09 shall be processed in accordance with DAO 04:2008 subject to the manufacturers’ compliance with the new requirements on the subsequent surveillance audit. Meanwhile, all importations of covered monobloc chairs and stools shall be subject to the procedures and requirements prescribed in the technical regulation immediately upon its effectivity on 17 July 2022.
The full copy of DAO 22-09 and other issuances may be downloaded from the BPS Standards and Conformance portal, www.bps.dti.gov.ph. Direct link to BPS’ issuances can be accessed through https://bit.ly/BPSissuances.
The DTI-BPS is the National Standards Body authorized to promulgate Philippine National Standards (PNS). Conformance to PNS requirements is voluntary unless a regulatory authority uses the PNS as reference in the technical regulation for a specific product or service where conformance to PNS or parts thereof becomes mandatory.