Minimum Requirements on Quality Assurance
for manufacturing FIBCs for Dangerous Goods
The following guidelines are to be used as a help for manufacturers of FIBCs in drawing up an adequate Quality Assurance Program as well as in limiting the scope of said program to the minimum required. According to ADR 2019, sub-sections 6.1.1.4, 6.5.4.1 and 6.6.1.2 and to the comparable regulations dangerous goods packagings have to be produced and tested in accordance with a sufficiently working quality assurance program in order to safeguard that every packaging produced for transport of dangerous goods corresponds to the regulations laid down in the relevant chapters. A QA program shall contain sufficient elements regarding incoming goods control, production preparation, production and testing. Preferably, the QA elements should be based on the corresponding elements of BS EN ISO 9001/2008. The interface to traffic-law regulations has to be described in addition to the usual internal relations between supplier/organization/customer. For FIBCs the following details have to be observed:
Incoming goods control
Each delivery (supply) of fabrics, liners, semi-finished products and additives relevant to safety shall be subjected to identification testing by means of comparison to the Work Test Certificates of the suppliers as specified in BS EN 10204-2.2/2004 regarding the technical characteristics. Random checks of the FIBC dimensions and weight controls shall be carried out in accordance with a testing schedule. Other random tests according to a testing schedule in accordance with BS EN 10204-2.3/2004 or equivalent tests shall be performed in order to determine conformance with the FIBC design type used for the UN-approval.
Controls during production
Tests prior to starting up production
The procedural quality ability of the manufacturing process with regard to the product speci-fications of FIBCs must be controlled before starting the production taking in account the job instructions specified. Before starting up the production the ordinary function of the machineries and plants must be ensured and documented. Before releasing the production the following tests shall be performed and documented using at least one prototype of the design type intended for manufacturing:
- Design type
- General external condition
- Control of the dimensions
- Condition of the connecting seams, welds and glues
- Condition of the filling and closing equipments
- Correctness, durability and legibility of the UN-marking
In-process controls
During production the proper installation of the machineries and plants and the observance of the job instructions are to be supervised. The following controls showing compliance with the design type approval shall be carried out:
| Kind of controls | Period of controls |
| General external condition | Every FIBC |
| Determination of the dimensions | 1 FIBC of 250, minimum 1 per order |
| Condition of the glued, welded and sewn connections | Every FIBC |
| Condition of the filling and closing equipments | 1 FIBC per order |
| Correctness, durability and legibility of the UN-marking | Every FIBC |
Final inspections and tests
The final inspections include the following tests:
| Kind Tests | Test Intervals *) |
| Drop test | 1 FIBC per order, minimum 1 of 1000 |
| Topple test | 1 FIBC per order, minimum 1 of 1000 |
| Righting test | 1 FIBC per order, minimum 1 of 1000 |
| Top lift test | 1 FIBC per order, minimum 1 of 1000 |
| General external condition | 1 FIBC per order, minimum 1 of 1000 |
| Condition of the sewn, welded and glued connections | 1 FIBC per order, minimum 1 of 1000 |
| Correctness, durability and legibility of the UN-marking | 1 FIBC per order, minimum 1 of 1000 |
*) In special cases other test schedules and intervals can be agreed with the Competent Authority and/or the Third Party Inspector.
Procedures followed in case of faulty products
If mistakes relevant to safety occur during production the UN-marking shall be made perma-nently unrecognizable by a suitable procedure and such FIBCs shall be precluded from usage as dangerous goods packagings.
Completeness and correctness of the user's documentation
The completeness and accuracy of the documents (approval documents, operation and instruction manuals) shall be guaranteed for each delivery.