MG International Frequently Asked Questions

1.1- Can I install the immersion detector myself?

Yes, unlike other competing systems, you can easily install your immersion detector yourself. A fixing kit is supplied for the purpose.

1.2- I can’t get the immersion detector to work.

Remove the batteries from their housing, check their condition then wait for about 2 minutes before putting them back. You should hear a long beep and 10 short beeps. If you do not hear these, contact our After Sales service on 04 42 98 14 90.

1.3- During fall tests, my immersion detector doesn’t set the alarm off

Carry out the following checks 1- check the condition of the batteries and make sure that they are correctly positioned 2- make sure that the detector is in “supervision” mode 3- make sure you have correctly closed and screwed down the lid using the screws provided 4- the angled tube should be correctly fitted into its housing and a minimum of 18 cm underwater 5- make sure that the test piece used weighs between 6 and 8 kg and goes into the water.

1.4- Why does the detector activate beyond 12 seconds?

Carry out the following checks

• 1- were the settings tests carried out using a calibrated test piece?
• Check that your test piece (drum, jerry can…) weighs between 6 and 8 kg and goes into the water properly. A test piece that is approximately the shape of a 6-to-9-month old child will help you to achieve the ideal detector settings.
• 2- did you carry out the tests in good weather conditions? For ideal detector settings, tests should be carried out in disturbance-free conditions (wind, storms…)
• 3- is the pool larger than 6 x 12 metres? In this case, you need to fit a second immersion detector
• 4- is the immersion detector in the right place? Check that the detector is not positioned close to a return fitting or any other source of disturbance
• 5- the setting is not sensitive enough. In this case, increase the sensitivity by turning the potentiometer slightly to the right (refer to “sensitivity adjustment” in the installation guide provided) and carry out new tests, making sure that you have closed the lid properly.

1.5- Why does the detector activate for no reason? Carry out the following checks:

• 1- is the angled tube at least 18 cm underwater?
• 2- were the settings tests carried out with a calibrated test piece? Check that your test piece (drum, jerry can…) weighs between 6 and 8 kg and goes into the water properly. A test piece that is approximately the shape of a 6-to-9-month old child will help you to achieve the ideal detector settings.
• 3- if the filter system is too powerful (> 35 m3/hour), it may activate the immersion detector
• 4- although they comply with the French NF P90-307 Standard, 2004 immersion detectors may be activated by winds stronger than those mentionned by the French NF P90-307 Standard.
• 5- the setting may be too sensitive. Reduce it by turning the potentiometer slightly to the left (refer to “sensitivity adjustment” in the installation guide provided).

1.6- Why is the alarm siren weak during the test and adjustment phase?

To reduce noise disturbance during repetitive tests, the detector alarm siren remains in reduced mode during the test and adjustment phase. To come out of this mode and return to maximum volume, please refer to stage 12 of the installation and user guide.

1.7- Why does the immersion detector no longer detect falls?

• 1- the angled tube may not be properly pushed in
• 2- the toric joint on the angled tube may be damaged. In this case, contact your pool products supplier rapidly.
• 3- the hood on the central detector unit may be incorrectly fixed or not tight enough on its base
• 4- the hood is cracked. In this case, contact your pool products supplier rapidly, and he will exchange the item.

1.8- Why does the Aquasensor remote siren activate on its own?

Your remote siren might be activated by a detector somewhere in the neighbourhood. In this case, you need to change the radio code linking your central detector unit and its remote siren. Please refer to the installation instructions supplied with the remote siren.

1.9- The angled tube is less than 18 cm underwater; what do I do?

If the level of water in your pool is too low or if you have cut the tube too short, ask your pool products supplier for a probe extension.

1.10- What do 4 sharp beeps emitted every 30 seconds mean?

This sound signal is accompanied by a flashing warning light and means that the battery level is low. Replace the batteries immediately.

1.11- What is the test sheet used for?

The test sheet is used to check that the immersion detector has been installed and configured in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations. The guarantee may only be granted if the test sheet is duly completed and signed by the user and / or the owner of the pool and returned to the retailer by registered letter with proof of receipt or by Post Office monitored delivery within 1 week of purchase.

1.12- How long does the guarantee run for?

The guarantee runs for 2 years, parts and labour.

1.13- I own a 2004 range immersion detector, do I still comply with the law?

Yes, the various amendments and versions of the French NF P90-307 Standard are not retrospective. The product needs only to comply with the standard in force when it was manufactured.

1.14- If I am absent, how long will the alarm siren ring for?

The alarm siren rings for 3 cycles of 3 rings, each lasting about 1 min 30 s, with a gap of about 30 s between each ring. The 1st cycle is at full strength, the 2nd at about 50% of maximum power and the 3rd at reduced power.

2.1- Can I install the immersion detector myself?

Yes, unlike other competing systems, you can easily install your immersion detector yourself. A fixing kit is supplied for the purpose.

2.2- Are immersion detectors in the Aquasensor range compatible with robot cleaners?

Diving robots are not compatible with Aquasensor range immersion detectors. Concerning other types and brands of robot, we are unable to draw up an exhaustive list of incompatible robots. Please consult your pool products supplier.

2.3- Are immersion detectors in the Aquasensor range compatible with bubble covers?

Aquasensor range immersion detectors are not compatible with the use of a bubble cover.

2.4- Why does the message "change batteries on Domo" appear on the Sensor Domo screen when it is new?

• 1- position the batteries in the order shown in the guide provided
• 2- do not connect Sensor Domo to the mains until you have inserted the batteries in the order shown
• 3- if the message persists, return your Sensor Domo to our After Sales Service via your retailer.

2.5- Why does the message "radio loss" appear on the Sensor Domo screen?

• 1- Make sure that the message is displayed continuously
• 2- make sure that the distance between the central detector unit and Sensor Domo does not exceed 100 metres
• 3- make sure that there is no major obstacle (trees, thick walls, metal fence, etc.) between the central detector unit and Sensor Domo
• 4- carry out a test by changing the position of Sensor Domo.

2.6- If I am absent, how long will the alarm siren ring for?

The alarm siren rings for 3 cycles of 3 rings, each lasting about 1 min 30 s, with a gap of about 30 s between each ring. The 1st cycle is at full strength, the 2nd at about 50% of maximum power and the 3rd at reduced power.

JPMA

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) was signed into law by President Bush on August 14, 2008. This legislation, also known as H.R. 4040, has very serious implications for the juvenile products industry.

H.R. 4040 requires manufacturers, retailers, and importers to subject toys and other nursery products to performance testing and to certify that they have passed strict mandatory U.S. safety standards before they hit store shelves. The law is effective upon enactment, but prospective according to various dates when provisions (i.e., lead, phthalates, testing and certification, tracking information, advertising restrictions) go into effect. The law also contains strong preemption language establishing uniform national standards for lead and phthalates in products.

JPMA wants to ensure that our members comply with the requirements of CPSIA. As such, we have created JPMA’s Guide to CPSIA, a comprehensive source of information regarding the new legislation. The Guide is designed to educate our members on the implications of this new legislation and offer solutions to the legislation’s requirements. The Guide can be found in the members-only section of JPMA.org, and contains a wide range of information and resources that will in turn help you better understand what this means to you, your store and your customers.

The information contained in JPMA’s Guide to CPSIA is based on our understanding of the requirements and will be updated as more information and clarification are received. In addition, JPMA will conduct educational briefings in the form of webinars, teleconferences, and/or face to face briefings on topics relating to CPSIA, as appropriate.

Here is a summary of some provisions the new CPSC regulations are required to implement:

Toy and JP Testing: Requires mandatory third party safety certification of products made for children 12 and under. Upon CPSC accreditation, private labs could be allowed to test products if they provide equal or greater consumer protection than available third party labs. Authorizes CPSC personnel to enter and inspect any firewalled lab certified under the Consumer Product Safety Act and withdraw accreditation if necessary. The JPMA Certification Program is subject to update and is expected to be able to provide a turnkey solution to testing and certification requirements.

Certain durable infant products: Specifically identifies products that will need to contain product registration cards including: full-size cribs and non-full-size cribs; toddler beds; high chairs, booster chairs, and hook-on chairs; bath seats; gates and other enclosures for confining a child; play yards; stationary activity centers; infant carriers; strollers; walkers; swings; and bassinets and cradles.

Phthalates: Permanently bans the sale of children’s products containing trace concentrations of three phthalates DEHP, DBP, or BBP. Temporarily bans products containing trace concentrations of DINP, DIDP, or DnOP unless further study and evaluation prompts the CPSC to lift the ban.

Whistleblower Protections: Provides whistleblower protections for private sector employees.

Funding: Authorizes funding levels for the CPSC for five years beginning in 2010 (FY2010, $118 million; FY2011, $115.6 million; 2012, $124 million; 2013, $132 million; 2014, $136 million). As part of the authorization, Conferees directed $25 million toward establishing a public database (see below for additional info).

Quorum: Allows a two-member quorum at the CPSC to conduct official business for the one year period beginning on the date of enactment. The CPSC currently is without a quorum and cannot conduct business that requires Commission action such as a mandatory recall. Restores the Commission to five members instead of three members to prevent future absences of quorum.

Rulemaking Process: Streamlines the product safety rulemaking process to be timelier by eliminating a mandatory “Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” step.

Lead in Substrates: Bans lead for products manufactured for children age 12 or younger. Specifically, the permissible level of lead in children’s products would be 600 ppm within 180 days, 300 ppm after one year, and 100 ppm after three years following enactment, if feasible. The CPSC is directed to periodically review and lower the limit and also to accept inaccessible parts and parts that do not pose a human health risk.

Database: Within two years, the CPSC will establish a searchable database to include any reports of injuries, illness, death or risk related to consumer products submitted by consumers, local, state, or national government agencies, child care providers, physicians, hospitals, coroners, first responders, and the media. Upon receiving a complaint, the CPSC has five days to submit the complaint to the manufacturer. The manufacturer then has 10 days to respond. The complaint and manufacturers response would then be posted on the database. The CPSC would have the authority to remove or correct a complaint if it is found to be inaccurate.

Civil Fines: Increases the civil fine penalty cap from $5,000 to $100,000 per individual violation, and from $1.25 million to $15 million for aggregate violations.

Criminal Penalties: Increases criminal penalties to five years in jail for those who knowingly and willingly violate product safety laws.

Attorneys General: Provides authority for state attorneys general to enforce consumer product safety laws and act expeditiously to remove dangerous products from shelves.

Labeling: Requires manufacturers to label children’s products with tracking information useful to consumers and retailers in identifying recalled products.

Recalled Products: Makes it unlawful for retailers to sell a recalled product.

Supply Chain: Requires companies to identify manufacturers and subcontractors in the supply chain.

Export of Recalled Products: Enables the CPSC to prohibit a U.S. entity from exporting a product that does not comply with consumer product safety rules unless the importing country has notified the Commission of its permission.

Import Safety: Requires the CPSC to develop a plan to identify shipments of consumer products intended for import into the U.S. Improves information sharing among federal agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Destruction of Noncompliant Imports: Provides greater CPSC oversight to prevent the entry of unsafe consumer products in the U.S.

HOW JPMA CAN HELP
The JPMA Certification Program already provides a turnkey solution to the mandated third party certification of compliance to federal regulations for children’s products. JPMA currently offers 20 product categories – including all 12 durable infant products specifically named in the legislation – under the program with new categories pending. The testing is done to voluntary standards developed and published by ASTM International.

Britax

Britax Training Seat Giveaway at Leadership Conference UPDATE

Congratulations! There are 256 lucky coalitions who are recipients of the Frontier Harness-2-Booster seat (to be used for training purposes). Approximately half are scheduled to ship the week of January 19, 2009 and the other half the week of February 16, 2009. They will be shipped from Charlotte, NC via UPS Ground service. The ship dates were assigned by state alphabetically – somewhere in the states beginning with “N” they shifted to the February ship date.

Thank you for your patience and Happy Training!

JPMA

Understanding The JPMA Certification Program

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) was signed into law by President Bush on August 14, 2008. This legislation, also known as H.R. 4040, has serious implications for the juvenile products industry.

JPMA is proud to provide a certification program that provides a turnkey solution to the mandated third party certification of compliance to federal regulations for children’s products. In fact, JPMA currently offers 20 product categories – including all 12 durable infant products specifically named in the legislation. The following is a list of Frequently Asked questions regarding the JPMA Certification Program which provides a better understanding of the program and ASTM Standards. For more information, please visit http://www.jpma.org/.

How many juvenile products are currently certified through the JPMA Certification Program?
Approximately 2,000

How long does a certification last?
Until the company chooses to leave the program or if they no longer pass the testing.

Do companies have to renew each year?
Yes, companies must renew each year to continue participation in the program.

How often are products re-tested?
There are quarterly testing requirements for the program. Each product model has to be tested at least once a year through the quarterly testing. Also, the program includes random retail testing where the test lab will purchase the product at the retail level and test the product. This is in addition to the quarterly testing.Why would a company not want to certify their product?
Sometimes they can’t get certified because there is not a program for that type of product/category.

What product categories are available for JPMA Certification?
Currently there are 20 product categories in the JPMA Certification Program: bassinets/cradles, bath seats, booster seats, carriages and strollers, changing tables, children’s folding chairs, frame infant carriers, full-size cribs, gates and enclosures, hand-held infant carriers, high chairs, infant bouncers, infant swings, play yards/non-full size cribs, portable bed rails, portable hook-on chairs, soft infant carriers, stationary activity centers, toddler beds, and walkers. JPMA is currently working on adding commercial cribs and infant bath tubs to the program.

Why doesn't JPMA offer more categories?
The development of a certification program for a product is based upon several factors. JPMA adds new categories to the certification program as new standards are developed by ASTM. The development of standards is typically driven by incident data provided by the CPSC. If there is data which demonstrates performance or safety issues with a product, ASTM will facilitate the establishment of a standard.

Is the certification international or domestic only?
The products are tested to U.S. standards.

Is the whole line of strollers etc. certified or just those that were tested?
If a manufacturer wants to participate in the carriage/stroller certification program, then all of their carriage/stroller models must be tested and pass the ASTM standard prior to certification being granted.

Why are car seats not part of the certification program?
All car seats manufactured today must be designed to meet stringent safety standards set by the Federal government. In fact, child restraints sold in the United States are required to satisfy the rigorous performance standards established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and are certified by their manufacturers as compliant before they can be offered for sale.

What does “ASTM standard” mean?
The testing is done to voluntary standards that are developed and published by ASTM International (formerly The American Society for Testing and Materials). Participants in the development of standards for juvenile products within ASTM include representatives from the federal government, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with manufacturers, retailers, test labs, consumer advocate groups, and individual consumers.

How are the ASTM standards developed?
The ASTM standards are developed for juvenile products based on hazard data, which provides each of the subcommittees insight into how the products are used by consumers and, in some cases, misused. Some products even have comprehensive federal mandatory standards that all manufacturers of those specific products must meet in order for the products to be sold in the U.S. Each standard’s requirements are specific to the individual product. The testing requirements reflect “real world” injuries and are intended to address typical use as well as reasonably foreseeable abuse of the product(s).

For example, the following are some requirements incorporated into ASTM standards for cribs that go beyond mandatory federal requirements of full-size baby cribs (16 C.F.R. 1508), and non-full-size baby cribs (16 C.F.R. 1509):

• Cribs
— Corner post vertical extensions
— Dynamic impact testing for crib structural integrity
— Crib interior dimensions and component spacing
— Impact testing of crib side rails

In addition, each of the standards contain specific requirements for labeling and marking of both the product and packaging. These warnings/markings are intended to alert parents/caregivers to specific issues involving each product.

What is the process for developing or revising an ASTM Standard?
ASTM subcommittees are responsible for the development and/or revision of an ASTM standard. The subcommittees via meetings and appointment of task groups work on the requirements included in the standard. Proposals are sent out to ballot to ASTM members to vote on and then those comments are considered by the subcommittee and either included in the standard or it is determined that additional work needs to be done. ASTM subcommittees include representatives from the federal government, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with manufacturers, retailers, test labs, consumer advocate groups, and individual consumers and must have a balance of official voting members.

Has there been any indication that voluntary standards work?
Yes, in fact, in a 2007 Senate hearing on the reauthorization of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), authorities cited an 84% and 89% reduction in fatalities and injuries due to the establishment and effectiveness of ASTM Standards for baby walkers and cribs, respectively.

If the standards work, then how can a JPMA Certified product be recalled?
When products are tested, they are assembled and used in accordance with the manufacturers stated intent as embodied in the assembly and use instructions. If the instructions are not followed, risks associated with use of any product may be exacerbated. Not all recalls occur because of a violation of a regulation or product standard. In addition, recalls do not account for certain factors typically not measurable in a lab, such as wear and tear over time.