Safe by Design

While aesthetics and functionality play pivotal roles in product development at DESIGN4, their highest priority has always been safety.
D4 Power-sets are constantly updated to integrate the latest in cutting-edge technology, such as the new bi-directional UBS Type-A 18Watt Quick Charger, which is unique to DESIGN4.

Design invokes an emotional response. This stems from the limbic core of our brains, which cannot understand language or process data, but makes decisions solely based on emotion.

For that very reason, aesthetics plays a pivotal role in product development at DESIGN4, with great emphasis placed on functionality. The super slick and sophisticated Blade Evo desk outlet, for example, still has to fulfil the purpose for which it was designed, after all – to safely bring power to the desk.

Built in South Africa, the entire range of customisable D4 Power-sets are constantly updated to integrate the latest in cutting-edge technology, such as the new bi-directional UBS Type-A 18Watt Quick Charger, which is unique to DESIGN4. No more wasted attempts to plug in your cable the right way!

Above all else, though, the highest priority at D4 has always been safety.

A common assumption is that if an electrical product is in the marketplace, it has already been through all the rigors and testing necessary to make it fully compliant and safe. Sadly this is not actually the case, as more and more illegal and unsafe products flood the market faster than regulators can confiscate and destroy them.

Before specifying just any old electrical components for your next architectural office project, its crucial to take the time to understand and verify the safety credentials of every product offering, because some credentials are not optional, and you simply cannot afford not to dot your I’s and cross your T’s when people’s lives are in the balance!

It’s important to know that the sale and installation of all electrical products in SA is controlled by two Acts. The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) Act of 2008 and The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act of 1993. The NRCS Act covers the sale of products and components, while the OHS Act covers their use in electrical installations.

Both of these acts are compulsory and non-compliance is a criminal act punishable by prescribed fines and penalties, which in the case of the NRCS Act may include one to four years imprisonment. Under Section 15 of the Act, the Regulator may seize and eliminate products that are not compliant with the requirements of the Compulsory Specifications.

Historically, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) was the body to police these matters but, more recently, NRCS has that role. Power-sets fall within a Compulsory Safety requirement under South African Law. 

DESIGN4 is a member of SafeHouse SA, which is a non-profit industry organisation committed to fight against sub-standard, unsafe electrical products and services.

More so now than ever before, the right safety credentials are absolutely non-negotiable. The arena where DESIGN4 is leading the industry, with approval by the NRCS, ensures every product meets and exceeds all South African safety regulations, making them completely SAFE BY DESIGN.