New Two-Inspection Follow-Up Service Program helps strengthen Global Market Access
High-Tech customers who have UL certification for their products and other international certifications through UL's Global Market Access services are now able to streamline their follow-up visits to two per year. The two visits will combine factory product inspections with a CIG-style quality process audit. By redesigning the Follow-Up Service model to coordinate these two types of visits, UL adds value for customers by taking a longer term view of safety while reducing the number of annual visits.
Each year, one audit visit will evaluate a manufacturer's products, production processes, and quality management systems, emphasizing the suitability and effectiveness of process controls. Where appropriate, UL will help to identify possible improvements. The second visit will be primarily a routine product audit, with some limited attention to quality management as noted during the full process audit. By integrating the product and process audits into one visit, UL can take a more holistic view of the manufacturer's operation in terms of effectiveness of product safety and quality. The manufacturer will also benefit from fewer interruptions to its production schedules.
This new service will be better aligned with global inspection programs such as CIG Audits for CENELEC factories. Customers who are subject to such inspection programs will find the new approach familiar and easy to adjust to. The program will be of particular value to customers seeking to leverage UL Global Market Access / International Approvals services by aligning the type of inspections into a single, common system. DEMKO's recognition of the CIG report can waive you some testing procedures normally required for European marks such as D, ENEC and GS Marks.
The Two-Inspection Program aims to improve quality at the manufacturing level. As such, it will contribute to strengthening the safety of the products and components entering the supply chain, enabling a more robust supply chain management system.
Initially, the program is available exclusively to customers with UL certification for the United States and Canada and who take advantage of UL's Global Market Access services for other certification marks, including D Mark, UL-EU Mark and UL GS Mark for Europe, UL-BR and INMETRO marks for Brazil, UL-AR Mark and S-Mark for Argentina, and ENEC.
The new follow-up approach is completely optional. Eligible customers may choose to continue with the current four-visit approach, or can opt for a combination of both approaches in different manufacturing locations. For those customers not yet involved with UL's Global Market Access services but would like to be, please contact your local UL account team now.
Eligible customers that are interested in learning more detailed information on the Two-Inspection Follow-Up Service Program please visit this web page or contact UL's Customer Service team now to sign-up.
