‘G-Mark’ to ensure safety in Bahrain

Manama : In a bid to reduce indoor electrical and fire accidents, new regulations will soon be enforced in Bahrain.

Starting July 1, stricter regulations will be in place to ensure that electronic equipment and appliances sold in the market are safe to use. 

Commonly used appliances and equipment such as fans, refrigerators, clothes dryers, blenders, toasters, hair dryers, heaters, microwave ovens, water heaters, ironing devices, electrical sockets, and air conditioners will be included in the new regulations.

Thirteen  low voltage  electrical equipment and appliances are currently included in the regulations drawn up by GCC Standardisation Organisation (GSO) and the GCC nations. It will be implemented in Bahrain by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. The move will unify safety standards in the GCC nations. The appliances and equipment imported or locally manufactured will be required a ‘G-Mark’ certification and label. 

“The manufacturer and the importer shall ensure and prove before placing the electrical equipment on the market that the equipment have been manufactured in accordance with good engineering practice,” GSO stated. Detailed technical guidelines for manufacturers, importers, distributes and authorised representatives can be found on the Ministry website as well as the GSO website. 

“We have already conducted many awareness programmes about these regulations. We had also encouraged voluntary implementation. It was a good chance for those involved to understand the requirements. This allowed them to analyze what their weak points were and how they could rectify it. It was a good indication for us that they would comply even before the regulations were enforced,” a Ministry spokesperson said.

“So we are starting this with 13 products, later we may introduce more products. For Air conditioning we have two programmes, one for safety and the other for efficiency. “ the spokesperson added. 

He explained that the new regulations will help curb indoor electrical and fire accidents. Defective electrical equipment are known to be one of the main causes of fire outbreaks. 

Seminar organised

Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism held an awareness-raising seminar on the Gulf Unified Technical Regulation for Low-Voltage Electric Equipment and Appliances on the BCCI premises in Sanabis yesterday. Representatives from the Standards and Metrology Directorate of the Ministry spoke at the seminar. During the seminar, the speakers highlighted the objective of the regulation, and explained the obligations it enforces on the manufacturers, the authorised representatives, importers, and the distributors.