Chamberlain group company Merlin has launched a new safety campaign to raise awareness on the importance of compliance in garage door automation. Addressing the issue of cheap imports, the campaign urges Australian builders and designers to ensure they install compliant garage door openers for their clients.
The Chamberlain group is the world's largest manufacturer of automatic garage door openers.
Marketing Director Grant Emanuel explains that the garage door is the largest moving object in a home, making it imperative for homeowners to ensure they install safe, reliable and Australian Standards-compliant openers.
Underlining the need for builders, designers and consumers to avoid non-compliant, cheap imports as they increase the risk of injury and damage to property or vehicles, Emanuel noted that both manufacturers and installers were responsible for ensuring compliant garage door installations.
As a non-declared electrical item, garage door openers must comply with the relevant Australian Standards. Emanuel observed that there was an immediate need for greater consumer protection on this issue.
Recent proposed regulatory changes in New Zealand aim to move ‘Drives for Garage Doors’ from a non-declared status to a medium level declared state, which means any garage door opener sold will require a Supplier Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) together with evidence of compliance to the relevant safety standard.
Additionally, the recent Australian Senate campaign examining non-compliant building materials has placed increased emphasis on this issue.
Merlin’s awareness campaign aims to educate garage door dealers about safety and compliance by equipping them with materials to help them communicate the importance of compliance to customers. The dealer packs include tools to conduct safety checks on garage doors and ‘Certificates of Suitability’ for any Merlin product installed. This provides assurance to both dealers and consumers about the safety of the installed product.
According to Emanuel, Merlin is also educating consumers about the need to check for compliance, given that many people simply assume all garage door openers installed in Australia are compliant with Australian and New Zealand standards. A special consumer campaign will be launched to highlight the importance of garage safety and the role of garage door openers.
Emanuel also requested industry professionals looking for information on compliance standards to contact Merlin on 1800 MERLIN.
