FM Approval – What Does this Mean for ECS Products?

Posted by Andrew Loeffelman on Mar 1, 2019 3:35:22 PM

FM Global is an American mutual insurance company based in Johnston, Rhode Island. Legally known as "Factory Mutual Insurance Company," FM Global specializes in providing loss prevention services to major corporations throughout the world that are included in what is considered the "Highly Protected Risk (HPR)" category.


fm-logoFM Global
uses a somewhat non-traditional property insurance business model such that risks and premiums are determined by actual engineering analysis of businesses/facilities they insure, rather than relying on past historical data like many other large insurance providers. FM Global believes that all loss is preventable, and for that reason they regularly send engineers to insured sites for audits, ensuring their rigorous standards are upheld and to recommend improvements.

The belief that all loss is preventable has led FM Global to create FM Approvals, a third-party global certification company. FM Approvals operates a global testing lab in West Glocester, RI. It is at this global testing lab that they test and certify all products and services to their internally developed property loss prevention standards.

Because FM Approvals’ standards are thorough and rigorous, achieving the FM Approved mark for a product is not an easy process. Prior to FM Approvals releasing their Standard 1035: Approval Standard for Nitrogen Generators in Dec. 2014, ECS products had been subject to many field installations and engineering design improvements. The ECS team felt confident in its ability to comply with the Standard 1035 once it was released – for this reason, ECS immediately began the approval process and ultimately was the first company to obtain FM Approval for their line of nitrogen generators on February 3rd, 2016. In addition to nitrogen generators, ECS also is only one (1) of two (2) suppliers currently offering an FM Approved Automatic Air Vent for use in Automatic Sprinkler Systems!

Wondering what nitrogen inerting is all about? Check out our guide to nitrogen  generators.

Having the FM Approved mark on ECS products further validates the high level of quality, reliability, and — most importantly — safety that an end user can expect when operating ECS equipment. An end user can feel confident when purchasing ECS equipment, and can expect a long service life from a safe product validated by the well-known FM Approved diamond on all applicable products.

For a better understand of the FM Approval, here's an excerpt from the FM Global website:

STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION

Raising Protection Standards Across the Globe

How can you be sure your facilities are built to last, or that the loss prevention products you’ve installed have been tested to verify their intended performance? We set worldwide standards for contractors, builders and manufacturers to adhere to, so you know they’re meeting the highest levels of safety and resilience.

For example, our FM Approvals® product testing service tells you instantly if an industrial or commercial product or service meets these high standards. If a product has an FM APPROVED mark, that means it’s been through the certification testing process to verify its function as intended.

Find more information on our FM Approved generators and automatic air vents below.

See FM Approved Products

Andrew Loeffelman

Written by Andrew Loeffelman

VP of Sales