Consumer Product Safety Commission

According to Richard Stern, Associate Director of Office of Compliance, the CPSC not only enforces mandatory standards but also regularly seeks recalls in cases involving products that fail to comply with voluntary standards. The term “voluntary” may be misleading, said Stern, because products that do not comply with voluntary safety standards maybe substandard in design and may not include the minimum features for safety and may present “substantial product hazard”. Therefore the CPSC evaluates compliance with voluntary safety standards, such as UL Standards, and uses them to identify defective products.

World-class compliance strategy should go beyond standards by putting in place thorough design review that incorporates analysis on hazard, human factors and lifecycle, as well as control on changes in design, material and production and supply chain and component quality.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is an independent agency committed to protecting the public against risks of injury associated with consumer products.

AHAM represents appliance industry in driving safety process

Joesph McGuire, President of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) pointed out that consumers demand higher and higher levels of safety and performance, and that has driven world-class manufacturers to build in safety at all levels of the product development cycle.

AHAM represents its manufacturer members in promoting safety compliance by joining hands with organizations like the CPSC on works related to pubic education, expert advice on research and developing effective and reasonable compliance procedures.

McGuire also highlighted counterfeiting of certification marks as a growing problem common to both China and the United States. He called on governments and the industry to forge partnership to tackle the problem.

AHAM is a U.S. based trade association. Its members are manufacturers of major appliances, portable appliances and floor care applicances who market their products and maintain a legal presence in the United States.

Manufacturers: safety starts in the beginning

“Inspection alone is far from sufficient in identifying hidden problems and achieving zero-defect. The solution has to incorporate complete, defensive and control processes. That’s why Haier’s quality and safety design starts from the very beginning of the production cycle.” — Haier

“When it comes to safety, there is absolutely no compromise!” — Siemens

“Safety is not a one time event; it is a living process.” — Whirpool

Retailers’ pivotal goal — delivering safe and reliable products to consumers

Delivering safe, reliable and quality products to the consumers is a core principle for the U.S. major retailers. At the symposiums, the panel of U.S. retailers, including The Home Depot, Best Buy, QVC, and The Office Depot, emphasized the importance of getting products tested and certified. Testing and certification would be convincing evidence of product compliance. Testing is preferably conducted by the Nationally Recognized Testing Labs (NRTLs) as they test to internationally recognized standards.

An NRTL is a product safety certification organization that has been accepted by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to test and certify products for the workplace in accordance with U.S. safety standards (usually UL Standards for Safety). OSHA requires that products used in U.S. workplaces be certified by an NRTL and demonstrate compliance with OSHA’s workplace safety requirements.