May 20, 2015

A recent technical bulletin released by the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) strongly reinforces a stance long-held by quality manufacturers.

AAMA says that once a product is performance tested, the test report remains valid, even after the testing laboratory’s own test expiration date has passed, provided certain conditions apply.

As AAMA explains in Technical Bulletin 15-01, “The test report remains valid as a reflection of the facts as of the date of the test,” provided “no changes are made to the design and/or construction of the product as documented in the test report.”

In the past, many quality architectural product manufacturers have had otherwise legitimate submittals rejected due to a performance test report bearing an expiration date that has passed.

This has caused a great deal of frustration among manufacturers, since nothing has changed that would impact performance expectations – i.e., the tests are still valid and the data is still good. As AAMA noted, “These expiration and/or test record retention dates will vary from laboratory to laboratory and test report to test report.”

For more information, contact Bruce Croak, Graham Architectural Products’ technical marketing manager, at 717-849-8100.