Equal Safety

As we follow our vision of providing accessibility products to enable independent mobility for passengers and drivers, we never lose sight of our users' safety.

Everyone should be able to travel safely in a vehicle regardless of their abilities and adaptation needs. Being a global market leader in vehicle adaptation, it is our responsibility to continuously strive for a higher level of safety within our industry. Offering high-quality products that are both safe and functional is a way to achieve this.

To guarantee the safety of our end-users, BraunAbility products are designed and tested in accordance with relevant directives and standards. We also work together with users, organisations, the automotive industry and other interested parties to constantly push for increasingly stringent safety requirements.

BraunAbility Safety Centre

To remain at the forefront among producers of safe and reliable vehicle adaptation products, we have invested in in-house testing facilities. Our products must undergo various tests before being released onto the market. Static pull tests, climate tests, and cycle tests are examples of tests that we perform at our Safety Centre. The Dynamic crash testing is carried out by Q'Straint at the iQ Center in the UK.

For the tests we don't perform in-house, we partner with several accredited test houses for specific and general testing. These include:

• RISE (Sweden)
• TÜV (Germany)
• VCA (UK)

RISE and TÜV offer technical services for testing according to several UN regulations.

TÜV and VCA provide witness tests, which involve the execution of the tests in our lab under the direction of the authority that issued the test report as a technical service.

The test laboratory in Stenkullen is accredited according to ISO 17025 by SWEDAC for ECE R14, ECE R17, and ECE 145. The accreditation guarantees our customers that the results are quality assured.

Selection of equipment used:

• A pull test rig with six hydraulic cylinders
• An H-Point Measuring Machine (dummy)
• A Climate test facility with temperatures ranging from -30° to +80° Celsius
• Flexible test stations with pneumatic control systems for endurance testing.

Product quality and user safety through testing

As testing is a vital part of product development, it is used frequently throughout the design phase to identify the best design or material. The list below provides a basic understanding of how we perform various tests and where the design process of the test is applied. In short, it explains what we mean when we say that one of our products is 'test approved'.

Our tests are performed in accordance with the latest version of the applicable standard.

• Crash test

  The products are subjected to crash forces according to the specifications in the respective standards. This testing is conducted to ensure the safety of the design and is required by standards such as ECE R17, ISO 10542, and ISO 7176.

• Pull test

  The seat belt anchorage points of our products are tested in accordance with ECE R14 using hydraulic cylinders. Force is applied to the body blocks, and a mass-dependent force is applied on the test object.

• Environmental test

  The product undergoes various operational tests for extreme environmental and weather conditions. This includes operation at temperatures ranging from -20° to +60° Celsius to ensure its performance. It also includes exposure to UV light and corrosive elements, among others, to ensure the unit meets performance requirements throughout its product life.

• Life cycle test

  The product is loaded to its maximum capacity plus an additional 20%. The purpose is to simulate everyday use as closely as possible, in other words, performing a complete life cycle.

• EMC test

  The product’s electronics are tested to ensure they do not cause interference and are not affected by interference from other electronics in the vehicle. This test is carried out according to ECE R10.

• Vibration test

  The product is exposed to vibration for a certain period of time. Vibration testing is performed to ensure the design and fixings are safe.

• Flammability Test

  This can involve various tests depending on the material and location of the product. Simply put, the product is tested to ensure it will not act as fuel if subjected to fire.

Quality Standards

Quality standards are used across the business to ensure we produce consistent products that meet our specifications. They also ensure we regularly assess the risks associated with both our business and products. Our quality standards are assessed and approved by external bodies nationally.

• ISO 9001:2015

  As an ISO 9001:2015 quality standards company, we have a strong commitment to quality and safety. We aim to meet or exceed, all regulatory requirements and Codes of Practice, on all products, which we manufacture and supply.

  It is our objective to give customers and end-users complete confidence in the ability of our products to offer safety during travel, provided they are installed and used in the correct manner.

  Download our certificate

• ISO 14001:2015

  When applying this environmental standard, we need to understand how we, as a company, affect the environment. We must address our environmental impact throughout the entire lifecycle of our products. Our responsibility begins when ordering components and ends when the product is recycled.

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• ISO/IEC 17025:2018

  This standard specifies the general requirements for operating a testing laboratory. For example, competence, impartiality as well as consistent operation of the laboratory. Compliance to this standard is a vital part of the accreditation of our static lab in Sweden.

Standards and guidelines in relation to products

• CE labelling

  For a product to be granted a CE label, risk analyses must be performed for each product, which must also be accompanied by descriptive documentation in line with the selected regulation.

• UN Regulations

  All BraunAbility seats and seat swivel bases are tested to the requirements of ECE R17. The floor, seat, and belt anchorages are tested according to the requirements of ECE R14. ISOFIX anchorages are tested according to ECE R145. Products with electrical parts are tested for electromagnetic compatibility according to ECE R10 at RISE. 

• EN 1756

  This regulation specifies safety requirements for the design of lifts in vehicles. All BraunAbility wheelchair lifts comply with EN 1756.