It has been official since November: The accredited testing laboratory has been designated Technical Service A (registration no.: KBA-P 00122-23) by the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (German Federal Motor Transport Authority). This means that FILK is authorized to carry out testing services for the interior of class M motor vehicles in accordance with regulation ECE-R 118 and accompanying services as part of type approval procedures in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/858. Vehicle category M includes vehicles with more than 9 seats and a total weight of 5 tons or more, i.e. buses for passenger transport.
Passenger safety plays a central role in the operating license of such vehicles. This not only includes technical traffic safety, due to a higher fire load and a short evacuation time, increased safety and approval requirements now apply to the interior fittings of buses with regard to the passive fire protection of passengers.
ECE-R 118 is a uniform technical regulation and defines the material properties of the interior trim with regard to flammability, melting behavior and flame propagation as well as the repellent behavior towards fuel and lubricants. All interior materials used in vehicle construction must meet the requirements of this regulation.
Combustion tests have long been part of the accredited portfolio (ISO/IEC 17025:2018) of our testing laboratory, which is also a listed service provider for many European automotive manufacturers thanks to its science-based materials expertise. Our colleagues have once again demonstrated their expertise and the high quality of their work by being designated as a Category A technical service by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority.