How Industry Standards & Certifications Guarantee Safe Use of Electrical Rubber Mats

Let’s review why the electrical rubber mats are crucial:

• Electrical insulation: The insulation mats protect from electrical hazards. These high voltage rubber mats prevent the flow of free electrons and resist electricity.
• Shock absorption: Electrical mats can absorb shocks, lessening the chances of burns and injuries.

• Anti-skid: A rubber mat for electrical room has a corrugated surface texture that enhances traction to the ground, reducing slips and trips.

• Anti-static: Insulated rubber mat can channelize static electricity, reducing unexpected sparks or discharges.

Imagine you are working around high-voltage systems. Would you be daring enough to work without undertaking any safety measures? Or, using appropriate safety equipment?

Following electrical safety measures is paramount while working around high-voltage machines. Otherwise, it won’t take much time to cause an accident. Electrocution, short circuits, electrical fires and whatnot!

This is where safety equipment comes into play. An insulated rubber mat is one of the basic pieces of safety equipment that one needs to install in the workplace.

Made of elastomer, rubber elastomers have good di-electric strength– which means that they can withstand very high voltage.
Nonetheless, is there any way to know that electrical rubber mats are actually safe?
Visually, they look just like a rubber mat.
They are not. Insulated matting certifications guarantee their efficiency.
But, there are too many insulated rubber mat certifications. It is easy for a new buyer to get confused. We can help solve that.
Should we take a look at globally accepted certificates for rubber mats for electrical panel?

IEC 61111:2009: The full form of IEC is the International Electrotechnical Commission. The IEC works through a network of National Member Bodies (NMBs) from various countries. These NMBs participate in the development process by sending experts to contribute to technical committees. This specific standard focuses on electrical rubber mats for live working (working on energized electrical equipment). Here, 2009 (year) stands for date of publication.

This standard recommends the class and voltage distribution. It also focuses on other properties of an electrical rubber mat like thickness, materials, construction etc. Rubber mats for electrical panel that complies with the IEC standard are accepted globally.

Click here if you want to get an overview of the IEC 61111 electrical mats.

ASTM D178: In the United States, the ASTM D178 standard outlines the physical properties of an insulated rubber mat. An ASTM D178 electrical mat, also called a switchboard mat can be further divided into Type I and Type II Type II high voltage rubber mats are ozone, oil, and flame resistant.

Who sets the guidelines for ASTM D178 standard?
ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, is responsible for developing and determining ASTM standards.

Click here if you want to get an overview of the ASTM D178 switchboard mats.

IS 15652: The IS 15652 is considered as an Indian electrical rubber mat certification. The guidelines for the IS 15652 standard are set by the BIS. Similar to the other industry standards, IS 15652 also highlights various electrical and physical properties of an insulated rubber mat.

Click here if you want to get an overview of the IS 15652 X-Volt electrical mats.

Certificates are a certain way to tell that the electrical rubber mats have been tested. Additionally, they also testify that the electrical mats are safe to use around high-voltage electricity. As a result, they can withstand given environmental and working environments.

Increased worker safety: Certified electrical mats offer a verified level of protection, minimizing the chances of electrical shock.

Legal Compliance: By using certified electrical mats, you make your workplace legally compliant.

Quality assurance: Certifications ensure that the electrical mats you use are of the best quality.

1. Thorough testing: The electrical rubber mats are supposed to meet certain criteria to be certified. A few properties of them like the di-electric strength, tensile strength, elongation, and aging properties are rigorously tested.

Moreover, when insulated matting is tested according to the guidelines described in a standard, they are exposed to real-life situations.

Hence, the results that come out are not arbitrary. Rather they are a sure-shot way to approve the electrical rubber mats of their electrical safety property.

 2. Regular Inspections: If you use a certified product, you will also have to inspect it following a schedule. These cycles of retesting are actually a great way to keep track of the efficiency of an electrical rubber mat.

 The ongoing process helps to identify any problem with the rubber mats before they transform into something extreme.

Transparency and Traceability: From the insulated rubber mat certifications, you can trace their production lot. As a result, you can quickly identify the defects and how they were resolved.

When buying electrical rubber mats, always look for:

• Certification Marks: Ensure the mats have certification marks from recognized bodies such as IEC, ASTM, or IS. The mats will have these marks on their surface, spread evenly throughout.
  These marks shouldn’t fade with time.
• Test Reports: Request the test reports from the manufacturer to verify the mats meet the required standards. For some variants, you can also ask for third-party test certificates. Since they are outsourced from accredited labs, they can be deemed more authentic.
• Reputation of the Manufacturer: Purchase from reputable manufacturers known for their quality and compliance with safety standards. How do you know your electrical rubber mat manufacturer is reputed and trustworthy?

Well, they will also have some regulatory certificates like REACH, IS, CE, ROHS etc. Duratuf proudly boasts not only these affiliations but membership to prestigious organisations like the AIRIA and similar.

We have a buyer’s guide that can help you shop more practically. Click here to get that.

Safety should be your number one concern. By knowing about the industry standards and certifications, you can confidently choose the right electrical mat option and maintain a safe working environment as a result.

Are you frustrated with the long documentation process that you have to complete while buying electrical mats?

Do you have to strictly follow up with your electrical rubber mat supplier to provide insulated mat certificates?

Have you never seen an original test certificate?

At Duratuf, we are proud to offer quick solutions to all kinds of documentation-related problems.

• First, we can show you a sample copy of the insulated matting certification directly when ordering.

• Second, we dispatch the certificates diligently with every shipment; you do not have to follow up at all.

• Third, we are more than happy to provide technical guidance if you need help understanding the test certificates.

You can also try out the difference with us. Quickly connect with our experts to see what our product test certificates look like!